Portland Mercuryhttp://www.portlandmercury.com
Portland's Most Awesome Weekly Newspaper. Covering Portland news, politics, music, food & drink, comedy, cannabis, film, and arts; plus the most extensive movie times, club calendars, and blogs.en-usCopyright 2017 Portland Mercury. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Portland Mercury readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Portland Mercury.news@portlandmercury.com (Portland Mercury Editor)webmaster@portlandmercury.com (Portland Mercury Webmaster)Tue, 26 Sep 2017 00:00:01 -0700Tue, 26 Sep 2017 14:15:00 -0700Foundationhttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssThe Senate Won't Vote on the GOP Health Care Bill After Allhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/26/19343924/the-senate-wont-vote-on-the-gop-health-care-bill-after-all
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/26/19343924/the-senate-wont-vote-on-the-gop-health-care-bill-after-allMegan Burbank
by Megan Burbank
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style=""><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/19343941/1506456599-gettyimages-497995533_1_.jpg" alt="Bye, Graham-Cassidy! No one will miss you!" title="Bye, Graham-Cassidy! No one will miss you!"><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">Bye, Graham-Cassidy! No one will miss you!</span> <span class="imageCredit">Getty Images / OLJensa</span></div></div></p>
<p><a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/09/26/553712561/republicans-scrapping-health-care-vote-again">NPR</a> and the <i><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/us/politics/mcconnell-obamacare-repeal-graham-cassidy-trump.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0">New York Times</a></i> have both confirmed the death of Graham-Cassidy, GOP's latest health care bill that would've <a href="https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/20/19329201/surprise-the-gops-new-health-care-bill-would-be-terrible-for-oregon">seriously screwed over states like Oregon</a>, due to opposition within the GOP on the part of Sens. Susan Collins, Rand Paul, and John McCain.</p>
<p>Collins' announcement of opposition yesterday was a determining factor in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision to pull the bill, which couldn't pass if it lost the support of more than two Senate Republicans.</p>
<p>Here's the <i><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/us/politics/mcconnell-obamacare-repeal-graham-cassidy-trump.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0">Times</a></i>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Senator Mitch McConnell on Tuesday officially pulled the plug on the latest plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, telling senators they will not vote on the measure and effectively admitting defeat in the last-gasp drive to fulfill a core promise of President Trump and Republican lawmakers.</p>
<p>Mr. McConnell’s announcement came less than 24 hours after a pivotal Republican senator, Susan Collins of Maine, declared firm opposition to the repeal proposal, all but ensuring that Republican leaders would be short of the votes they needed.</p>
<p>Senate Republicans already tried once this year to approve repeal legislation, an exercise that ended in defeat when Senator John McCain of Arizona gave a thumbs-down in July to kill that repeal proposal.</p></blockquote>
<p>I've said it before and I'll say it again: One of the only things that gives me hope in this nightmarish political moment is the incompetence of the GOP. Collins has been stalwart in her opposition to the health care repeal, but Paul and McCain aren't exactly reliable friends to the Democrats. It's interesting that the GOP wasn't able to pull either of them in on this.</p>
<p>It's also good news for the rest of us, since Graham-Cassidy would've cut federal funding for health care, reversed the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion, allowed states to recategorize essential health benefits (bye, birth control coverage!), allowed insurance companies to jack up premiums for people with preexisting health conditions, and effectively punished states that actively implemented the Affordable Care Act.</p>
<p>Surprise! Turns out legislating health care is, like, really complicated, and people actually don't want higher premiums. That this is news to anyone over the age of 12 is shocking, but alas, it seems to be a lesson the GOP still hasn't learned.</p>
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Bye, Graham-Cassidy! No one will miss you!Getty Images / OLJensaTue, 26 Sep 2017 13:14:59 -0700Portland MercuryTrump Blames Puerto Ricans for the Disasterhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/26/19343926/trump-blames-puerto-ricans-for-the-disaster
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/26/19343926/trump-blames-puerto-ricans-for-the-disasterCharles Mudede
by Charles Mudede
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:600px"><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/stranger/imager/u/original/25434058/1506450791-nasattt.jpg" alt="NASAttt.jpg" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">NASA/ISS</span></div></div><br />Trump finally got around to tweeting about the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico. The problem, he tweeted, is not so much the hurricanes but the people of the island. They caused this mess by not upgrading their electrical system. Florida and Texas, Trump tweeted, did exactly that and so are doing great after the storms. Trump also raised the serious specter of PR's debt, which skyrocketed in recent years to over $70 billion (75 percent of its GDP). Trump's conclusion? PR is in "deep trouble." </p>
<p>But no matter what the island did before Irma and Maria, there was no way it could repay that debt, which is held by Wall Street bondholders. After the hurricanes, the debt is even more unreal. First, you have the problem of global warming, which will make future hurricanes even more destructive. Secondly, it's already estimated that returning basic services on the island will take many months and several billions. Those billions do not exist. And if they do, the bondholders want them. <br /><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trump blaming the victims in Puerto Rico, because of course he is <a href="https://t.co/xFhlswrXgD">pic.twitter.com/xFhlswrXgD</a><br />— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) <a href="https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/912539107594833920">September 26, 2017</a></blockquote><br /><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The three Trump tweets that outraged many on social media actually mirror Wall Street's official position on Puerto Rico. They were given more words, but captured the same essence, in the <em>Financial Times</em> post "<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a249b510-9f66-11e7-9a86-4d5a475ba4c5">US territory should sacrifice its politicians, not its investors</a>." These investors don't want the debt to be eclipsed by the disaster. But how did the island end up with a prone electrical system in the first place? Austerity. PR's government was servicing its debt at the expense of its infrastructure and social services. And where did this debt come from in the first place? In a way, PR is a lot like Greece. The woes of both began with the geopolitics of the Cold War. </p>
<p>In 1976, the US gave the island a tax break (section 936) that stimulated the island's economy and showed the Caribbean world that capitalism was far better than communism. Similarly, Greece received Cold War transfers (cash with no ties) directly from Germany to keep it in the orbit of Euro capitalism. After the Cold War, the US dropped Puerto Rico just as Germany dropped Greece. The abandoned countries had to turn to debt to keep things going. Greece hit a debt crisis in 2010, and Puerto Rico in 2015, when it defaulted "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rican_government-debt_crisis">on a $58 million bond payment</a>." Not long after, its sovereign bonds were downgrade to junk bonds. </p>
<p>The disaster of austerity is now compounded the disaster of the hurricanes. The island may never come out of this in one piece.</p>
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Tue, 26 Sep 2017 12:20:42 -0700Portland MercuryStronger Review: At Least Mark Wahlberg Isn't In Ithttp://www.portlandmercury.com/film/2017/09/20/19329568/stronger-is-another-boston-marathon-bombing-movie
http://www.portlandmercury.com/film/2017/09/20/19329568/stronger-is-another-boston-marathon-bombing-movieElinor Jones
by Elinor Jones
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/19334730/1506014620-film-stronger.jpg" alt="film-stronger.jpg" title=""></div></p>
<p>It’s hard these days—when terrible things come at us so quickly, one after the other, without a break or a breath—to feel ready to memorialize <em>anything</em>. The Boston Marathon bombing happened only four years ago, and despite the fact that we’ve had several lifetimes of sadness between then and now, it feels like it just occurred. Are we ready for a movie about it?</p>
<p>What’s that? This is the SECOND movie about it? <em>Patriot’s Day</em> came out earlier this year? What? Why!</p>
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Tue, 26 Sep 2017 10:29:58 -0700Portland MercuryAlert! Portland Veg Week is Coming!http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/26/19343564/alert-portland-veg-week-is-coming
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/26/19343564/alert-portland-veg-week-is-comingMercury Staff
by Mercury Staff
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:600px"><img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/19343567/1506439104-grabbag.jpg" alt="grabbag.jpg" title=""></div></p>
<p><b>This fall,</b> from <b>October 9-14</b>, your pals at the <i>Mercury</i> are teaming up with Portland Vegfest to present <b>Veg Week</b>—six days of some of Portland’s greatest vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurants providing <b>signature vegan entrees... at</b> <b>HALF-PRICE!</b></p>
<p><br />Portland’s already one of the best cities to live in (and eat in!) for those who enjoy the ethical, physical, and environmental benefits of a healthy diet—and, for one week, it’s about to get EVEN BETTER. That goes for vegetarians and vegans, sure—but also anyone who wants to check out some of the best and most inventive dishes Portland restaurants have to offer!</p>
<p><br />Veg Week is brought to you in part by Portland VegFest, Wildwood Farm Sanctuary, Twist Yoga, Farm Spirit, and Peace Seed Organic.</p>
<p><br />And here are <b>all the places you can get half-price vegan entrees</b> during the week of October 9-14:</p>
<p><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/19168422/aviv">Aviv</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/18372654/bar-maven">Bar Maven</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/18865233/biwa">Biwa</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/Locations/4093897/brass-tacks-sandwiches">Brass Tacks Sandwiches</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/19055193/ground-breaker-brewing-and-gastropub">Ground Breaker Gastropub</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/Locations/19314647/ichiza-kitchen-and-tea-house">Ichiza Kitchen & Tea House</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/1086534/laughing-planet">Laughing Planet</a> (select locations) <br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/18845943/loyal-legion">Loyal Legion</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/38560/mississippi-pizza-pub-and-atlantis-lounge">Mississippi Pizza</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/16587758/next-level-burger">Next Level Burger</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/38621/night-light-lounge">Night Light Lounge</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/18893323/no-bones-beach-club">No Bones Beach Club</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/16043173/noraneko">Noraneko</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/Locations/2991328/off-the-griddle">Off The Griddle</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/446949/papa-gs">Papa G’s Deli</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/Locations/19314653/rad-fare">Rad Fare</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/18640791/revelry">Revelry </a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/6387843/sasquatch-brewing-company">Sasquatch Brewing Co.</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/18945240/stacked">Stacked Sandwich Shop</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/11679878/the-sudra">The Sudra</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/19282896/virtuous-pie">Virtuous Pie</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/2579750/water-avenue-coffee">Water Avenue Coffee</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/locations/1529967/wolf-bears-mississippi">Wolf & Bear's</a><br /><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/Locations/6813368/xico">Xico</a></p>
<p><br />Stay tuned to the <i>Mercury</i>’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for announcements of the delicious dishes these restaurants will be serving up, as well as our Veg Week map and other updates!</p>
<p><br /><b>The</b> <b><i>Portland Mercury</i></b><b>’s Veg Week:</b> <b>Health at Half the Price!</b></p>
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Tue, 26 Sep 2017 09:00:58 -0700Portland MercuryThings to Do Tuesday!http://www.portlandmercury.com/things-to-do/2017/09/26/19330898/things-to-do-tuesday
http://www.portlandmercury.com/things-to-do/2017/09/26/19330898/things-to-do-tuesdayMercury Staff
7 Things to do for September 26
by Mercury Staff
<P><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19320482/a-joint-for-black-portland">A Joint for Black Portland</a></b><br /> SuperThank, a non-profit that fosters “radical community gratitude” events, presents A Joint for Black Portland to give thanks to the organizations, people and events that make living in Portland as a Black person enjoyable (and tolerable). The event seeks to un-erase the experiences and community of Black Portlanders by featuring live storytelling from speakers like economist/entrepreneur Stephen Green (Pitch Black), and photographer Intisar Abioto (<i>The Black Portlanders</i>), both of whose storytelling has been featured at TEDxPortland. Then DJ Klyph will play the cuts until 10 pm. JENNI MOORE<Br />
<B>6 pm, Pensole Footwear Design Academy, $5-10, all ages</b></p><hr>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19106077/invsn-darkswoon">INVSN, Darkswoon</a></b><br /> Sweden’s INVSN has been something of a work in progress. Starting out as the demure, folksy cousin to the furious hardcore pioneers of Refused and Lost Patrol Band, Dennis Lyxzén’s side project morphed to Invasionen, then just INVSN. With the evolution of the name came intense stylistic progressions, as heard on the band’s second full-length, <i>The Beautiful Stories</i>, released in June. Armed with a post-punk cowl, INVSN’s industrial sheen reflects Lyxzén’s devotion to groove-oriented rock, whether it’s as destructive as it was with Refused, or as soulful as it was with the (International) Noise Conspiracy. Here, songs like “Immer Zu” approach NIN territory, with factory metal pings and darkwave repetitions. The LP is just seven tracks long, but what it lacks in duration, it makes up for on swelling post-rock bangers like “This Constant War,” which sounds like it could’ve been a Freedom B-side. RYAN J. PRADO<br />
<B>9 pm, Doug Fir, $13-15</b></p>
<P><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19270182/emo-nite">Emo Nite</a></b><br /> Dust off your My Chemical Romance T-shirt, apply excessive eyeliner, and get ready to shamelessly scream Dashboard Confessional lyrics at Holocene's bi-monthly emo night (FKA Taking Back Tuesday). Know all the words to "Sic Transit Gloria"? You're ready. XxscenexX forever. BRI BREY<br />
<B>9 pm, Holocene, $10</b></p>
<P><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/movies/4375921/grindhouse-film-festival-deep-red">Grindhouse Film Festival: <i>Deep Red</i></a></b><br /> This month’s entry in the Hollywood’s celebration of Grindhouse cinema is a rare 35mm print of Dario Argento’s 1975 giallo classic, featuring the hallmarks of a great time with the Italian madman: garishly beautiful cinematography, innovative and disturbing kills, and of course—that synthy, sleazy, serpentine sound of Goblin poured all over the soundtrack. A carefully curated reel of Italian horror trailers precedes the feature. BOBBY ROBERTS<<br />
<B>7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19283555/the-portland-mini-maker-faire">The Portland Mini Maker Faire</a></b><br /> Check out the thriving community of people who make things in Portland, from 3D printing robots to sustainable artists to blacksmiths, jewelers, and rocket builders. The Portland Mini Maker Faire has a making mode for everyone, and should serve as a serious shop of DIY-project inspiration. MARJORIE SKINNER<br />
<B>Sept 26-27, 9:30 am, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry</b></P>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19218331/angelique-kidjo-and-the-oregon-symphony">Angélique Kidjo & the Oregon Symphony</a></b><br /> Renowned Beninese singer/songwriter and activist Angélique Kidjo brings her powerful voice to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall to perform a career-spanning set of favorites with backing from conductor Gast Waltzing and the Oregon Symphony.<br />
<B>7:30 pm, Arlene Schniter Concert Hall, $35-95, all ages</b></p>
<p><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18927775/city-and-colour-david-brazan">City and Colour, David Brazan</a></b><br /> When he's not helping front the Ontario-based post-hardcore band Alexisonfire, Canadian singer-songwriter Dallas Green can be found performing blues rock and folk with his solo project, City and Colour.<br />
<B>8 pm, Roseland, $35-50, all ages</b></p>
<p>Don't forget to check out our <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events">Things To Do calendar</a> for <i>even more</I> things to do!</p>
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Tue, 26 Sep 2017 08:30:00 -0700Portland MercuryGood Morning, News: Obamacare Survives, Trump's People Use Private Emails, and Portland's Still Got a Housing Emergencyhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/26/19342240/good-morning-news-obamacare-survives-trumps-people-use-private-emails-and-portlands-still-got-a-housing-emergency
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/26/19342240/good-morning-news-obamacare-survives-trumps-people-use-private-emails-and-portlands-still-got-a-housing-emergencyDirk VanderHart
by Dirk VanderHart
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/19343466/1506436208-hansen.jpg" alt="Officials rely on the citys formal housing emergency to operate a 200-bed shelter at the Hansen Building in East Portland. The shelter would face zoning challenges without the declaration." title="Officials rely on the citys formal housing emergency to operate a 200-bed shelter at the Hansen Building in East Portland. The shelter would face zoning challenges without the declaration. "><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">Officials rely on the city's formal housing emergency to operate a 200-bed shelter at the Hansen Building in East Portland. The shelter would face zoning challenges without the declaration. </span> <span class="imageCredit">Multnomah County</span></div></div><br /><strong>You know how </strong>Portland's under a formal housing "state of emergency" that lets officials put homeless shelters on property that otherwise wouldn't be zoned for homeless shelters? Mayor Ted Wheeler is pushing to have it <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19342080/mayor-ted-wheeler-wants-to-extend-portlands-housing-state-of-emergency-by-18-months">extended for another year and a half,</a> his office tells us. </p>
<p><strong>SHOCKER</strong>: Gov. Kate Brown still wants to be Gov. Kate Brown. She's r<a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/09/kate_brown_announces_she_will.html#incart_river_home">unning for re-election next year. </a></p>
<p><strong>Also maybe running for something</strong>:<a href="http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/373217-257715-emmons-seriously-considering-running-for-saltzmans-seat"> Stuart Emmons</a>, who ran for the seat now occupied by Commissioner Chloe Eudaly last year, and who's very interested again now that Commissioner Dan Saltzman isn't pursuing re-election. </p>
<p><strong>Your capacity </strong>for gape-mouthed outrage is vastly depleted, I know, but try this one on for size: At least six top White House advisers have used private email servers to discuss official business, the <em>NYT</em> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/us/politics/private-email-trump-kushner-bannon.html">reported yesterday</a>. It's hypocritical, given that much of Trump's campaign hinged on Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server, but it's also different, the newspaper notes. It's also not necessarily illegal, but at very least presents security concerns. </p>
<p><strong>Welp</strong>. Looks like Obamacare is going to survive the third attempt on its life. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/us/politics/obamacare-repeal-susan-collins-dead.html?_r=0">indicated yesterday she can't support</a> the Graham-Cassidy proposal, making her the third GOP senator to oppose it. So it appears dead, but who knows these days?</p>
<p><strong>The county's health director</strong> retired yesterday. As in, Joanne Fuller sent out an email to employees in the morning breaking the news that she was <a href="http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/373235-257756-multnomah-health-director-joanne-fuller-resigns-abruptly-following-controversial-ouster">leaving pretty much immediately. </a>It's hardly a typical exit for a three-decade public employee, and as the <em>Portland Tribune</em> notes, the abrupt departure comes shortly after a controversial firing in the health department led to accusations of systemic racism.</p>
<p><strong>Police say</strong> a blind man was run down on Columbia Boulevard on Monday morning, after a <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/09/pedestrian_hurt_after_being_hi.html#incart_river_home">driver apparently didn't stop for a red light</a>. The driver is being charged with criminally negligent homicide. </p>
<p><strong>Who knew</strong> that Washington State put its most serious sexual predators on an island pseudo-prison<a href="http://www.opb.org/news/article/washington-sex-offenders-mcneil-island-water-contaminated/"> with a possibly tainted water supply</a>? Not this reporter.</p>
<p><strong>Speaking of Washington State</strong>, it's been clamoring for more seats at the table, as Oregon prepares to discuss tolling on I-5 and I-205. <a href="http://www.columbian.com/news/2017/sep/25/oregon-invites-vancouver-into-toll-discussion/">It'll get them</a>. </p>
<p><strong>Ready for your dose of dire national news?</strong> Let's start off nice and easy, with the fact that Puerto Rico still mostly lacks power, and nearly half of people lack water. Compounding those difficulties, grocery stores are <a href="https://apnews.com/26175c2cb7154af3bbc909b3571d59fd">only just toddling to their feet</a> after Hurricane Maria's devastation, and don't carry many staples. It is a bad scene and people in PR have <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/25/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-help-243133">good reasons to believe</a> Trump isn't engaged in their plight. </p>
<p><strong>North Korea </strong>is now<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/world/asia/trump-north-korea.html"> threatening to shoot down American warplanes</a> that aren't in its air space, not long after several of them flew closer to the nation's coast "than any other American air mission since the turn of the century."</p>
<p><strong>It's election day in Alabama! </strong>Will voters picking a senator to replace Jeff Sessions go with the Trump candidate or the Steve Bannon candidate? Right now, it's l<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/25/alabama-senate-bannon-strange-moore-243131?cmpid=sf">ooking like the Steve Bannon candidate</a> (a hard-line insurgent named Roy Moore). Whee.</p>
<p><strong>Some peachy days ahead</strong> (not because of anything that's happening in the world, but because of the weather). </p>
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Officials rely on the city's formal housing emergency to operate a 200-bed shelter at the Hansen Building in East Portland. The shelter would face zoning challenges without the declaration.Multnomah CountyTue, 26 Sep 2017 07:37:31 -0700Portland MercuryAs a Spokane Father Faces Deportation, His Son Wonders If He Will Be Nexthttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19342213/as-a-spokane-father-faces-deportation-his-son-wonders-if-he-will-be-next
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19342213/as-a-spokane-father-faces-deportation-his-son-wonders-if-he-will-be-nextAna Sofia Knauf
It was 5:30 a.m. when Lu&#237;s Manuel Salazar-Campa&#241;a heard a knock on his car window.
by Ana Sofia Knauf
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style=""><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/19342215/1506377163-salazarcampana1.jpg" alt="Luís Salazar-Campaña with sons Isaac, 8; Maximiliano, 9; and Alexander, 13." title="Luís Salazar-Campaña with sons Isaac, 8; Maximiliano, 9; and Alexander, 13. "><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">Luís Salazar-Campaña with sons Isaac, 8; Maximiliano, 9; and Alexander, 13. </span> <span class="imageCredit">COURTESY OF FAMILY</span></div></div><br /><b>Editor's note: This piece was originally published in our Seattle-based sister paper, <i>the Stranger</i>. </b><br /><span id="dropcap">I</span>t was 5:30 a.m. when Luís Manuel Salazar-Campaña heard a knock on his car window as he was about to drive to work. A police officer stood outside with his gun drawn. After confirming his identity, Salazar-Campaña was ordered to step out of his car to answer the officer’s questions. The police officer told him his car was reported as stolen. (The Spokane Police Department was unable to locate any incident reports listing Salazar-Campaña as a suspect, according to documents provided to <em>The Stranger</em>.) An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer walked from behind Salazar-Campaña’s car and asked for his legal status. The 39-year-old father of four refused to answer.<br /> </p>
<p>That was in April. Salazar-Campaña has been incarcerated at Northwest Detention Center since then. His eldest son, Luís, now worries he could end up there, too.</p>
<p>Luís, 18, is also undocumented, but he is a recipient of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects immigrants who arrived in the United States as minors from deportation and grants them work permits. President Donald Trump announced his plans to end DACA earlier this month.</p>
<p><br />“I’ve never been to Mexico, but talking to my grandparents and stuff over the phone...it makes me never want to go there,” he said. “It gives me more fear with this DACA thing.”</p>
<p><br />Trump’s promised immigration crackdown could affect at least 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S. On February 21, the president <a href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Trump-s-new-priorities-expose-more-immigrants-10949458.php">rescinded</a> Obama-era immigration enforcement priorities and empowered law enforcement officials to arrest anyone suspected of violating immigration law. Although Trump said he would target undocumented people with criminal records for deportation, arrests of those without records more than <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/immigration-arrests-of-noncriminals-double-under-trump/2017/04/16/98a2f1e2-2096-11e7-be2a-3a1fb24d4671_story.html">doubled</a> compared with arrests under Obama.</p>
<p><br />Now, Luís and his father are just two of the 250,000 undocumented Washingtonians whose futures are in jeopardy. If the Trump administration gets its way, two generations of the Salazar-Campaña family could be displaced.</p>
<p><br /><span id="dropcap">O</span>n September 19, a balding corrections officer escorts Luís and his three brothers, Isaac, Maximiliano, and Alexander, through a winding hallway to a courtroom inside Tacoma’s Northwest Detention Center, the largest immigrant jail on the West Coast.</p>
<p><br />“Remember: You can’t talk to or hug your dad, okay?” the officer says.</p>
<p><br />The children solemnly nod. With help from Luís’s girlfriend and her mother, the Salazar-Campaña siblings drove across the state from Spokane that morning.</p>
<p><br />Inside the courtroom, Salazar-Campaña doesn’t turn around as his kids sit feet away. He dabs his eyes with a crumpled tissue and glances up at an overhead TV screen showing video of everyone in the room. On another TV screen, Judge Arwen Swink begins Salazar-Campaña’s hearing remotely from an immigration court in San Francisco, California.</p>
<p><br />Over the course of his two-hour hearing, Salazar-Campaña presents police reports showing that members of his wife’s family told his parents they had kidnapped him and were requesting ransom. He details how they threatened him at gunpoint and had already attempted to kill him by trying to run him over with their car. He provides Judge Swink with letters and character references from former bosses, his children’s school counselors and Spokane’s City Council president. But none of the pleas or testimony convinces Judge Swink. She denies Salazar-Campaña’s case under the U.S. Convention Against Torture and his request for withholding of removal, which would have allowed him to stay lawfully with a work permit.</p>
<p><br />Salazar-Campaña is ineligible for asylum because U.S. authorities previously ordered his deportation in 1998. Instead, immigration attorney Andrea Lino of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, made a case for withholding against removal, which requires a higher burden of proof than asylum cases. Salazar-Campaña also attempted to get protection under the U.S. Convention Against Torture.</p>
<p><br />Asylum-seekers must prove past persecution in their home country or a “well-founded fear” that they would be persecuted their race, faith, nationality, political affiliation, or membership in a particular social group if they returned to their home country. Defendants seeking withholding from removal must prove they “more likely than not” would be persecuted because of their membership one of the same groups. The U.S. Convention Against Torture takes that a step further and requires defendants that they would more than likely be tortured if deported.</p>
<p><br />Of more than 30,000 Convention Against Torture cases processed across the U.S. in 2015, only 504 cases were granted protection, according to <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/fysb15/download">data</a> from the U.S. Department of Justice.</p>
<p><br />Salazar-Campaña now has until October to make a case to stay in the U.S. by appealing Swink’s ruling to the Department of Justice’s Board of Immigration Appeals. If his final appeal is denied, he will be deported back to Mexico.</p>
<p><br />When Swink announces her ruling, one of Salazar-Campaña’s sons, Alexander begins to cry. Despite attempts to maintain his composure, his father speaks out.</p>
<p><br />“You would rather separate a family than give an opportunity,” he told the judge.</p>
<p><br />Under the Obama administration, Salazar-Campaña would not have been considered a <a href="https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/comparing-trump-and-obamas-deportation-priorities/">removal priority</a> because he does not have a criminal record, has strong family ties in the United States, and has lived in the country for nearly 20 years. (Still, between January and August, Trump deported about 16,000 fewer undocumented immigrants than Obama did during the same period last year, according to the <em>Washington Post</em>.)</p>
<p><br />When Trump was elected, Salazar-Campaña said he wasn’t worried about deportation because he “heard that he was only going to deport bad men” and criminals.</p>
<p><br />His wife has not visited him in Tacoma because she is afraid she would be detained, too.</p>
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/19342216/1506377244-nwdc.jpg" alt="The Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma." title="The Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. "><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">The Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. </span> <span class="imageCredit">ASK</span></div></div></p>
<p><span id="dropcap">S</span>alazar-Campaña first arrived to the United States from Mexico to look for work in 1995. After returning to Mexico to marry his high school girlfriend, he returned in 1998. Members of his wife’s family, who were unhappy with their marriage, had threatened to kill him, he noted in court. Salazar-Campaña was arrested at the U.S. border for entering the country illegally and was deported to Tijuana. He crossed the border to California the next day. Months later, his wife, who was also undocumented, joined him with their young son, Luís.</p>
<p><br />The couple eventually moved to Spokane in 2009. There, Salazar-Campaña and his wife, who requested not to be named for fear of being targeted by ICE, worked as cleaners. He worked three jobs, usually from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., to pay for his eldest son’s community college tuition and provide for their family. Salazar-Campaña was in the process of starting his own business when he was detained.</p>
<p><br />“I’m working so my children can move forward and be somebody in this life,” he says, “because that’s the education they deserve and that’s what I never had.”</p>
<p><br />Aside from being separated from his family, Salazar-Campaña now worries that if he is deported back to Mexico, he and his wife won’t be able to afford daily medications for their son, Alexander, 13, who has chronic asthma. Alexander’s medical condition requires daily care and monitoring, he said.</p>
<p><br />Salazar-Campaña last saw Alexander and his brothers Isaac, 8; Maximiliano, 13; and Luís, 18, in August. Although he was relieved to see his sons after a four-month separation, the visit was painful, he told <em>The Stranger</em> through a translator.</p>
<p><br />“It was emotional and sad at the same time, because I couldn’t hug them or kiss them,” Salazar-Campaña said. “I couldn’t touch them because they were behind the glass.”</p>
<p><br />Since he was detained and brought to the Tacoma jail, Salazar-Campaña’s family has struggled to stay afloat. During a recent phone call, his younger sons told them they couldn’t afford clothes or shoes for the new school year.</p>
<p><br />“That just broke my heart,” he said, crying. “They said I should not be worried because they know that I’m going to come back. They said they don’t want any clothes, just their Papi.”</p>
<p><br /><span id="dropcap">L</span>uís, Salazar-Campaña’s oldest son, said that if the federal government decides to deport his father, they are effectively “sentencing him to death.”</p>
<p><br />The morning Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials detained his father, Luís woke up to his mother sobbing in his bedroom.</p>
<p><br />“It was that feeling, that pinch in the gut, it sounded almost like someone was dead,” he told <em>The Stranger</em>.</p>
<p><br />The first time Luís and his brothers visited their father in Tacoma “was the most painful experience I’ve had,” he said.</p>
<p><br />“The only time [we] get to see him, [we] have to drive across the state,” Luís said. “You have to talk to him through a shitty phone through a scratched window.”</p>
<p><br />As a DACA recipient, Luís said he didn’t get much support from his community college school counselors while working to become a firefighter. He said he is still uncomfortable sharing his immigration status with most of his friends. Only two close friends, his girlfriend and her family know he is undocumented.</p>
<p><br />Since his father was detained, Luís said he finds himself questioning the intentions of people he meets.</p>
<p><br />“It feels like ever since they came for my dad, you’re always skeptical,” he said. “Who’s this car parked close to my house? It’s a paranoia kind of thing.”</p>
<p><br />Although his mother is still working, Luís has had to get a part-time retail job in addition to working as a seasonal firefighter to help cover the bills. With Trump’s efforts to undo DACA, Luís said he worries about what would happen to his three little brothers, who are U.S. citizens, and his mother if he is deported to Mexico.</p>
<p><br />“Imagine tearing apart a white family,” he said. “If that were to happen, what would be the reaction of [Trump supporters]? ... When it’s people like us, they don’t even seem to care.”</p>
<p><br />During a phone call two days after Judge Swink denied his father’s case, Luís sounds emotionally exhausted. Since leaving the courtroom, he and his mother have been working to persuade Salazar-Campaña to appeal the judge’s decision. The details of his dad’s case should have swayed the judge, who seemed to have difficulty issuing her decision, he said.</p>
<p><br />While driving back to Spokane after the hearing, Luís said he had to explain to his youngest brothers, Isaac and Maximiliano, what had happened in the courtroom. If they understood what being deported could mean for the father, why couldn’t the judge?</p>
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Mon, 25 Sep 2017 15:00:00 -0700Portland MercuryReview: Marvel Universe Live! at the Moda Centerhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19342178/review-marvel-universe-live-at-the-moda-center
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19342178/review-marvel-universe-live-at-the-moda-centerWm.™ Steven Humphrey
by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:600px"><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/19342183/1506375965-screen_shot_2017-09-25_at_2.43.30_pm.png" alt="Avengers... and a lot of other randos... ASSEMBLE!" title="Avengers... and a lot of other randos... ASSEMBLE!"><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">"Avengers... and a lot of other randos... ASSEMBLE!"</span> <span class="imageCredit">Courtesy Marvel Universe Live!</span></div></div></p>
<p>I'll admit that before last year's <strong><em>Marvel Universe Live!</em></strong> show at the Moda Center, my expectations were <em>verrrrrry looooooow.</em> After all, it's from the same company that produces the "Disney on Ice" shows that kids love, but make parents want to claw their eyes out. So yes, I was SHOCKED when I totally loved the debut of <em>Marvel Universe Live!</em>—a cobbled together plot about Marvel superheroes teaming up to fight bad guys with acrobatics, explosions, and dirt bikes. <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/03/04/17729057/review-marvel-universe-live-at-the-moda-center">Read that review here.</a></p>
<p>So how did my expectations hold up for the <em>second</em> installment of this show, called <em>Marvel Universe Live!: Age of Heroes</em> (which played all weekend at the Moda)? Well, this time my expectations before the show were about here (holds hand about six inches above head), but what I got was <em>WAY UP HERE! </em>(Holds hand like about two feet above head!)</p>
<p>In short, the producers of <em>Age of Heroes</em> took everything that was lacking in last year's show, fixed it, and added a lot more of the stuff I loved. The story—while entertainingly ridiculous/hilarious—was a lot more cohesive, and eschewed the boring exposition that bogged down the first go-around. Some legit and funny jokes have been added (largely given to the <em>Guardians of the Galaxy </em>characters), and while there are significantly fewer dirt bikes involved (<strong>WHAT</strong>), the motorcycle tricks were far more impressive—including <strong>a sick dirt bike backflip </strong>performed by Spider-Man. (A sentence never before typed in the history of humankind.) </p>
<p>And not to disparage Cirque du Soleil... well, I guess I'm disparaging them, because <em>Age of Heroes</em> had a lot of the same impressive acrobatic verve, but none of the pretentiousness. In fact, among all the explosions, villain fights, special effects, and towering, 10-foot-tall bickering Hulks and Groots, there were some sweet moments and acrobatic displays that were nothing short of beautiful. </p>
<p>In all, <em>Marvel Universe Live: Age of Heroes </em>is silly, totally entertaining fun for kids and dorks of all ages (me). And, at least thus far, is only getting better with age.</p>
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:600px"><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/19342186/1506376015-screen_shot_2017-09-25_at_2.45.14_pm.png" alt="Screen_Shot_2017-09-25_at_2.45.14_PM.png" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">Courtesy Marvel Universe Live!</span></div></div></p>
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"Avengers... and a lot of other randos... ASSEMBLE!"Courtesy Marvel Universe Live!Mon, 25 Sep 2017 14:50:32 -0700Portland MercuryReel M Inn Bartender/Manager Carey Bolton Is Also Its New Ownerhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19342136/reel-m-inn-bartendermanager-carey-bolton-is-also-its-new-owner
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19342136/reel-m-inn-bartendermanager-carey-bolton-is-also-its-new-ownerNed Lannamann
And That's Terrific News for Fans of Chicken, Jo-Jos, and Great Neighborhood Bars
by Ned Lannamann
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/19342137/1506370205-reelminn-5.jpg" alt="reelminn-5.jpg" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">Minh Tran</span></div></div><br />Three years ago, <strong>Carey Bolton</strong> walked into the Reel M Inn to meet a friend for a drink. That drink turned into a bartending gig, then a promotion to manager. And on August 26, 2018, <strong>she’s going to own the place</strong>.</p>
<p>As first reported by <i><a href="http://www.wweek.com/bars/2017/09/13/portland-dive-with-amazing-fried-chicken-wont-be-razed-for-condos-after-all/">Willamette Week</a></i>, Bolton is buying the bar from its current owners, Paul Meno and Cathy Myers, having signed all the paperwork on September 7. Bolton has been the Division Street bar’s manager for about six months, and has worked behind the bar at the Reel for three years, following that fateful drink.</p>
<p>“I walked into the Reel to have a drink with a girlfriend and asked the bartender, Kaili, if they were hiring,” Bolton says. “She had been there for years and years and told me that she was moving to the coast, could I start tomorrow? I’ve been there ever since.”</p>
<p>The Reel has become one of the <strong>best-loved bars in Southeast Portland</strong>, due to its fastidious refusal to change amid the rapid development of Division Street and the disappearance of other neighborhood bars like it. (In 2015, <a href="https://www.thedailymeal.com/americas-best-dive-bars">The Daily Meal</a> called it the second best dive bar in America.) It’s also got the best chicken in town; the Reel’s familiar exterior sign announces “Chicken & Jo-Jos,” a beacon for lovers of perfectly fried bird and potato.</p>
<p>Bolton says there will be no immediate changes to the Reel when she takes over next summer. “Maybe a few updates, but nothing major,” she says, offering welcome reassurance to longtime Reel patrons who have heard scuttlebutt about the cozy bar’s possible closure after the building transferred hands earlier this year. The property’s new owner, and the Reel’s new landlord, is Douera LLC, a group led by Chris Briggs and family members. Briggs’ other ventures in Portland include Loyal Legion beer hall (co-run with Kurt Huffman of ChefStable), and he told the <i>Mercury</i> back in June that the very last thing he ever wanted to do was close the Reel, thoroughly debunking all the rumors that were circulating at that time. Briggs also said that there would be something to announce in the coming months—presumably that something has turned out to be the Reel transferring ownership to Bolton.</p>
<p>It’s not just fantastic news for lovers of the Reel M Inn; this is also a pretty wonderful story about an employee becoming owner of the workplace she loves and preemptively protecting it from any lingering possibility of closure. “I started in this industry as a dishwasher at 14 years old and have been in the service industry one way or another, ever since. It has been a dream to own my own place!” Bolton says.</p>
<p>Meno and Myers have owned the Reel just shy of 18 years, and will be retiring following the transfer; their plans had left the fate of the Reel up in the air when the lease expires next year. “I’ll be finishing out Paul’s current lease and then signing a new one,” says Bolton. “A new lease is guaranteed; we are currently working out the terms.”</p>
<p>So maybe it’s not exactly breaking news: <strong>the Reel M Inn is sticking around</strong>. But if that means things are staying the same, then no news is good news. “The most special thing about the Reel would hands down be the regulars. An incredible group of people,” Bolton says. “There is something about the Reel that makes any and all feel comfortable and welcome when they walk through those doors.”</p>
<p>As for now, she says, “It’s business as usual at the Reel, even if I have a million things to do!”</p>
<p><small><i><b>Further Reading</b>—<a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland-dive-bar-preservation-society/2016/03/09/17741656/reel-m-inn-an-oasis-in-a-desert-of-development">Reel M Inn: An Oasis in a Desert of Development</a></i></small></p>
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Minh TranMon, 25 Sep 2017 13:18:57 -0700Portland MercuryDoes Star Trek: Discovery Justify Signing Up for CBS All Access?http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19342017/does-star-trek-discovery-justify-signing-up-for-cbs-all-access
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19342017/does-star-trek-discovery-justify-signing-up-for-cbs-all-accessErik Henriksen
by Erik Henriksen
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style=""><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/19342035/1506362294-std1.jpg" alt="std1.jpg" title=""></div></p>
<p>So far there's been as much discussion about <em>Star Trek: Discovery</em>'s distribution model as there has been about <em>Star Trek: Discovery</em>.</p>
<p>In order to watch anything beyond last night's series premiere, Americans have to subscribe to CBS All Access, the network's attempt to create a streaming service that stands alongside services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, <em>ad infinitum</em>. (In other countries, Netflix subscribers will find <em>Discovery</em> already included in their subscription, since Netflix provided a big chunk of <em>Discovery</em>'s budget.) Asking people to pony up for CBS All Access is a tall order, given that other streaming services have stuff that people actually want to watch, while CBS All Access has <em>Discovery</em> and... uh, I guess a lot of episodes of <em>The Big Bang Theory</em>? In case you find the skull-splitting experience of existing in 2017 not painful enough and want to make it even worse?</p>
<p>On one hand, it's a bit unfair that <em>Discovery</em> is inextricably linked to All Access. On the other, it makes perfect sense to talk about them together: I can't think of another time when a new TV show has launched and, after less than an hour, asked viewers to pay for a streaming service they probably don't want in order to continue. Last night's first hour of <em>Discovery</em> not only had to not only kick off a whole new Star Trek series, it also had to convince viewers to buy into CBS All Access.</p>
<p>Did it accomplish the former? Uh, kind of! Mostly!</p>
<p>Did it accomplish the latter? Not a chance.</p>
<p>As Star Trek pilots go, <em>Discovery</em>'s is decent enough. That said, we're grading on a curve, since Star Trek pilots are generally pretty lousy. (Hell, the first few <em>seasons</em> of any given Trek are generally pretty lousy.)</p>
<p>But based on its first hour, <em>Discovery</em> is exactly the kind of show that justifies a "wait and see" attitude: It could easily get better, and it could just as easily get worse. Problem is, in order to "wait and see" with <em>Discovery</em>, you'll have to cough up $6 a month—or $10 if you don't want commercials.</p>
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style=""><img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/19342091/1506365923-std4.jpeg" alt="std4.jpeg" title=""></div></p>
<p>Leading up to the oft-delayed <em>Discovery</em>, much of the conversation focused around the departure of showrunner Bryan Fuller (<em>Hannibal</em>,<em> Pushing Daisies</em>), following both his commitments to <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/film/2017/04/26/18975372/starzs-sumptuous-and-slow-american-gods"><em>American Gods</em></a> and disagreements with CBS over the direction of <em>Discovery</em>. Fuller's ambitious pitch for <em>Discovery</em>—<a href="https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/star-trek-discovery-bryan-fuller-interview/">an allegorical anthology that would span Trek's different eras, pulling in talent like Edgar Wright along the way</a>—was reportedly scrapped by CBS in favor of something decidedly more pedestrian: a darker prequel to the original <em>Star Trek</em>. (If you're thinking we already got one of those, <a href="http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_Enterprise">you're right</a>.)</p>
<p>Once you ignore what it <em>could</em> have been, it's easier to determine what <em>Discovery</em> actually is: a thoroughly mixed bag. Sure, there are nits to be picked, the most obvious being that, aesthetically and technologically, everything in <em>Discovery</em> is somehow more advanced than anything in <em>Star Trek: Voyager</em>, despite taking place 115 years prior. But the things that're worrisome about <em>Discovery</em> go deeper than the visuals: There's the fact <em>Discovery</em> is relying on Klingons, yet again, as adversaries. (And yep, these Klingons are just as boring as all the other Klingons.) There's the fact that, aside from leads Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Saru (Doug Jones), all the characters feel intentionally disposable. (The great Michelle Yeoh is, sadly, more or less squandered.) There's the fact that the first episode kicks off on a weird, inventively designed planet with weird, inventively designed aliens, with Yeoh and Martin-Green doing cool stuff—yet ends with an unearned, too-early twist and a rote standoff that already feels familiar.</p>
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style=""><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/19342036/1506362313-std2.jpg" alt="std2.jpg" title=""></div></p>
<p>But there's stuff <em>Discovery</em> has going for it, too: Both Martin-Green and Jones are great, and while the pilot's twists and turns don't necessarily <em>work</em>, they signify a refreshing willingness to experiment and try new angles on an increasingly worn-out franchise. Tonally, <em>Discovery</em> seems to land between the previous TV series and the more recent movies—there's technobabble and diplomacy (however poorly said diplomacy goes), but there's also a whole lot of money thrown at pretty CGI.</p>
<p>So far, though, <em>Discovery</em> doesn't have the charms of either old-school or new-school Trek: Despite the show's title, the fenced-in time period in which it's set automatically eliminates the sense of the unknown that defines the best Trek, while the blockbuster visuals can't make up for its mostly generic protagonists and villains. If there's a criticism of the new Trek movies, it's that they trade philosophical substance for visual style—but those movies also do a fantastic job with their characters, so even when their plots don't make sense, it's still a pleasure to spend time with the cast. In <em>Discovery</em>, you've got the shiny visuals of the new movies, but none of the character charms; you have the TV series' science nerdery, but its grandeur and strangeness are kneecapped by the fact it's a prequel. (And a pretty low-key one at that: <em>Discovery</em> might have a better crafted pilot than other Treks, but the "Eeek! Klingons!" plot feels pretty underwhelming compared to the weirdness of <em>The Next Generation</em>'s "Encounter at Farpoint," the ambition of <em>Deep Space Nine</em>'s "Emissary," or even<em> Voyager</em>'s goofy "Caretaker.")</p>
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style=""><img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/19342037/1506362343-std3.jpg" alt="std3.jpg" title=""></div></p>
<p>So yeah. It's got pros and cons—and while that might have been good enough for previous Trek pilots, where viewers' only investment was tuning in every week, the investment level in <em>Discovery</em> is about six to 10 bucks higher.</p>
<p>In 2017, if you're asking viewers to pay more for a TV show—and do so month after month, and juggle another subscription, and another password, and another app—it better be great. I'd love for <em>Discovery</em> to become great, and if it finds firmer footing, it seems like it could. In the meantime, I'm going to wait and see. Hopefully <em>Discovery</em>'s first season will hit Netflix at some point. I'm already paying for that.</p>
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Mon, 25 Sep 2017 12:23:49 -0700Portland MercuryMayor Ted Wheeler Wants to Extend Portland's Housing State of Emergency by 18 Monthshttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19342080/mayor-ted-wheeler-wants-to-extend-portlands-housing-state-of-emergency-by-18-months
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19342080/mayor-ted-wheeler-wants-to-extend-portlands-housing-state-of-emergency-by-18-monthsDirk VanderHart
by Dirk VanderHart
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:678px"><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/19342095/1506366890-screen_shot_2017-09-25_at_12.14.27_pm.png" alt="Screen_Shot_2017-09-25_at_12.14.27_PM.png" title=""></div></p>
<p>Portland's housing state of emergency might get its longest extension to-date, if a proposal Mayor Ted Wheeler is cooking up moves forward. </p>
<p>Tomorrow, Wheeler's office plans to submit an ordinance for council consideration that would push an expiration date for the city's housing emergency status out 18 months, spokesperson Michael Cox says. The ordinance would be taken up next week—in time to keep the emergency declaration going past its slated expiration on October 6. </p>
<p>"We had talked about 12 months. we had talked about 18 months, we had talked about 2 years," Cox said this morning. "This seemed like the best place to land."</p>
<p>The housing emergency, first proposed by Mayor Charlie Hales roughly two years ago, has been used again and again to place temporary homeless shelters in places where Portland's zoning regulations otherwise would make that difficult. For Wheeler, who won office partly on a promise to increase shelter space, that's a crucial point. </p>
<p>But Cox says the mayor is also leery about the heretofore murky definition about what, exactly, constitutes an emergency. As written, he says, the ordinance the mayor plans to file would create a group that would hash out that definition, and criteria for ending the emergency period—all within six months of passage.</p>
<p>"We don't know what the right metrics are," Cox says. "Is it vacancy rates? Is it rent increases? Is it homelessness?"</p>
<p>In fact, City Council has cited all three of those and more in past decisions about the housing emergency. Last year, <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/images/blogimages/2016/08/31/1472658394-989_substitute.pdf">an ordinance</a> extending the state of emergency until October 6 laid out the city's housing issues in detail. It discussed how housing supply hadn't kept pace with the city's population growth, rent increases of 30 percent over five years, a ballooning homeless population, insufficient affordable housing, and more. </p>
<p>"These combined circumstances are contributing to significant human suffering, creating an immediate need to provide adequate, safe, and habitable shelters for persons experiencing homelessness, and to rapidly increase the supply of permanent affordable housing," the ordinance read. </p>
<p>Wheeler's most high-profile use of the emergency declaration came in April, when his office brokered <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/04/06/18935348/landlord-right-2-dream-too-staying-in-place-for-two-more-months">a last minute-deal </a>that saw well-regarded homeless camp Right 2 Dream Too to move into the Rose Quarter, onto a plot not zoned to automatically allow a mass shelter. (Hales ran into a similar issue when he tried to move the camp into the Central Eastside, and wound up scuttling that plan.) The emergency is also being used to site <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/07/06/18338811/theres-finally-a-homeless-shelter-coming-to-east-portland">a 200-bed shelter </a>at a county-owned building in East Portland. </p>
<p>A new plan to <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2017/09/13/19313411/old-town-neighbors-are-fighting-a-new-homeless-shelter-by-citing-a-decades-old-agreement">create another 200-bed shelter in Old Town</a> would be allowed under the zoning code, officials have said. </p>
<p>The designation has done more than offer officials zoning leeway, though. When Hales called for an emergency declaration in 2015, it also served to center officials' attention on Portland's growing issues. In the time since, the city has developed an inclusionary housing policy that mandates affordable units in many new apartment buildings, passed new renter protections, won voter approval for a $258.4 million housing bond, and more.</p>
<p>Even so, problems persist. The latest "point-in-time" homeless count found Multnomah County's homeless population had risen 10 percent between 2015 and 2017, and stories of rising rents and renter displacement are still common. </p>
<p>It's possible Wheeler's 18-month extension could cause heartburn in City Hall. Last year, when Hales proposed extending the emergency by three years, the rest of city council <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/08/25/18520269/breaking-mayor-charlie-hales-wants-to-extend-portlands-housing-state-of-emergency-by-three-years">immediately shot down the idea</a>. A <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2016/08/31/18533427/nick-fish-portlands-housing-emergency-will-be-extended-for-one-year">compromise</a> was reached to extend it by one year. (When the emergency was first passed, it was supposed to be reconsidered every six months.) We've reached out to city commissioners' offices for reaction.</p>
<p><strong>Update: </strong>Staffers for commissioners Amanda Fritz and Nick Fish say they're on board with the proposal.</p>
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Mon, 25 Sep 2017 12:21:14 -0700Portland MercuryCannabis Community Fair and Book Launchhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19341235/cannabis-community-fair-and-book-launch
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19341235/cannabis-community-fair-and-book-launchJosh Jardine
by Josh Jardine
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:493px"><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/19342029/1506361684-grow-your-own.jpg" alt="Grow-Your-Own.jpg" title=""></div><br />If you enjoy cannabis science, free chocolate, and smart womxn, and you're one of those eggheads who love their bookie books, here's a fantastic way for you to spend Wednesday evening, and it's free to those 21 and over. </p>
<p>This Wednesday, September 27, from 6 to 10 pm, Holocene will be the place to be, as <b>Tin House Books hosts the <em>Grow Your Own Book</em> Launch and Cannabis Community Fair</b>. The book's subtitle, "Understanding, Cultivating, and Enjoying cannabis," is on the money. This is a beautifully made and laid-out book, the combined efforts of four authors who used their expertise to cover a wider range of topics than you would normally find it a grow book, including vaporizers, making edibles, decarboxylation, the entourage effect, and other related topics. </p>
<p>In addition to this being an opportunity to buy the book on launch day and meet the authors, Tin House has put together a great evening of womxn-led programming, featuring short presentations on everything from talking with budtenders, mapping the cannabis genome, growing your own, improving women's sexual health through cannabis, and much more. Speakers include Emma Chasen (Farma), Mary J Poppins (Sativa Science Club), Lena Davidson (Botanica PDX), Nichole Graf (Raven Grass), Andi Bixel (Drip Ice Cream), Meghan Miller and Alisha Holloway (Phylos Bioscience), April Pride (Van der Pop), and others. Many will have interactive booths—including Pearl Extracts, who will have a hands-on terpene station, which they describe as an opportunity to "learn about these aromatic cannabis compounds and gain confidence in selecting strains based on their terpene profiles." Yes, please. </p>
<p>As the event states, "In accordance with OLCC regulations, no form of cannabis is to enter the premises in any form." So leave the devil's lettuce at home, as they will have specialty "Grow Your Own" cocktails and delicacies from Botanica Seattle, who will have a range of unmedicated chocolate treats. Or, do I as I plan to, and eat an edible pre-show. More info at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1616466151757303/">Facebook event page</a>.</p>
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Mon, 25 Sep 2017 10:53:38 -0700Portland MercurySeahawks Lose Football Game On Weekend Where Football’s Importance Exists Outside The Realm Of Game Itselfhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19342026/seahawks-lose-football-game-on-weekend-where-footballs-importance-exists-outside-the-realm-of-game-itself
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19342026/seahawks-lose-football-game-on-weekend-where-footballs-importance-exists-outside-the-realm-of-game-itselfSpike Friedman
A truly catastrophic third quarter.
by Spike Friedman
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style=""><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/stranger/imager/u/large/25432239/1506351267-gettyimages-853244274.jpg" alt="Neither the Seahawks nor the Titans participated in Sundays national anthem." title="Neither the Seahawks nor the Titans participated in Sundays national anthem."><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">Neither the Seahawks nor the Titans participated in Sunday's national anthem.</span> <span class="imageCredit">Frederick Breedon / GETTY</span></div></div></p>
<p>The NFL has a lot of problems. The biggest is that the game is dangerous in ways that affect players minds in profound ways during and after their careers. Beyond that there are myriad issues big and small including stadium policy, domestic abuse, uneven game quality, Tom Brady’s stupid face, ownership collusion, forced jingoism, and me crying at the Amazon ad where the dog dresses up as a lion so the baby will like it.</p>
<p>Players using their platforms to raise awareness of discrepancies in police brutality along racial lines and league efforts to reduce concussion causing hits are not among the real and meaningful issues facing the NFL. In fact they’re the opposite of problems. Aside from deep shots down the sideline and Earl Thomas run stuffs, the increasing level of political responsibility amongst the players is the best thing the sport has going for it. And while anti-concussion protocols are likely insufficient to prevent CTE, the effort has to be made.</p>
<p>Which is all to say that as the Seahawks lost to the Titans on Sunday to fall to 1-2 on the season, there were larger forces lurking around the game itself, forces that coalesced into a terrible speech and series of tweets from our terrible president that suggested that players protesting systemic racism and new rules preventing concussions are bad. Neither team came out for the anthem <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/09/24/25431561/how-seahawks-players-are-responding-to-trumps-war-on-black-athletes">in protest of our terrible president’s terrible comments</a> (which condemned the protests without understanding them), and the Seahawks players issued the above statement, condemning both the president and the racism that started this cycle of protests.</p>
<p>But, as with so much else that is tarnished by our trash president, the thing itself happened. There was a game played on Sunday. A largely bad, but also quite interesting battle between two teams that I think are highly likely to be in the playoffs this year. So let’s run down what happened in it:</p>
<p>• The Seahawks defense followed up a spectacular first half on Sunday with a truly catastrophic third quarter. They gave up the longest run of Pete Carroll’s tenure as head coach to DeMarco Murray, and failed to tackle Rishard Matthews on a 55 yard touchdown despite (an estimated) 55 opportunities to do so. </p>
<p>I’m going to blame the heat, which one-third Stranger Genius and game attendee Ben Beres described as so hot, “my ball sweat was sweating.” There were a couple moments of indiscipline that led to two huge plays for the Titans, but really it just looked like the Seahawks, who had hoped to rotate their players throughout the game, were gassed.</p>
<p>Why blame the heat? The other option is that Kam Chancellor is bad now, and Bobby Wagner is slow, and Earl Thomas isn’t made out of magic, and I’m unwilling to consider any of those three things until far more evidence comes in on a far cooler day.</p>
<p>• Doug Baldwin is really good, and basically took over Sunday’s game in the early stages of the fourth quarter, when the Seahawks were at risk of a total collapse. He then tweaked his groin and had to miss the game’s final offensive series. I really hope that Baldwin is healthy, and that the team starts leaning on him until other teams start double teaming him.</p>
<p>• Setting aside Baldwin, left tackle George Fant’s torn ACL is the only major injury to a Seahawks starter, the team’s special teams unit has been decimated by injury of late. First DeAndre Elliot was lost for the year in the preseason, then Neiko Thorpe hurt his ankle, then D.J. Alexander suffered a muscle injury, and now Dewey McDonald has a knee injury that could end his season. These absences not only ruined the Seahawks’ punt coverage both prevented the aforementioned planned for defensive rotation, and required starters to play special teams snaps in heat that Beres also described as, “the devil breathing all over my back.” My take? I think football injuries are bad. Controversial!</p>
<p>• Titans linebacker Wesley Woodyard has been in the NFL for 10 years. I had never heard of him until this weekend, despite his presence on the Broncos team the Seahawks dispatched in Super Bowl 48. I’ve heard of him now though, as he played a large part in the Titans’ process of ruining Russell Wilson’s life on Sunday. Which is mostly to say that despite the offensive line looking slightly better (the guard play was… adequate?), the unit is still vulnerable to lapses during which they make journeymen look like superstars. This wasn’t a game that Titans star lineman Jurrell Casey took over (though he looked good). It was a game where on any given play the Seahawks were liable to give up to pressure to a relative nobody. That’s not great.</p>
<p>• On the subject of the not great offensive line… I mean, look at this:</p>
<p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The half-moon of regret that is the Seahawks offensive line. Couldn't protect for four seconds against a three-man rush on fourth-and-22. <a href="https://t.co/kSVeZGLUjh">pic.twitter.com/kSVeZGLUjh</a><br />— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) <a href="https://twitter.com/billbarnwell/status/912090855674130432">September 24, 2017</a></blockquote><br /><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Terrible. Rees Odhiambo allowed 10 pressures on Russell Wilson himself this week. And he's the only guy in this picture blocking anyone. Yeeeeesh.</p>
<p>• Speaking of Russell Wilson and not great… is the line play all that’s going on with Russell Wilson? Can he just not handle the pressure? Because while his stat line from Sunday looks really good (29/49 for 373 yards and 4 touchdowns with no interceptions) he was wildly off for the better part of three quarters. I was genuinely worried he was injured. But then he put together maybe the best quarter of his career. It’s almost like a guy who doesn’t know when he’s going to get hit by a three man rush can’t produce with the consistency a fan would hope for. So yeah, it’s mostly the pressure. But also, woof, some of his early throws were bad.</p>
<p>• Speaking of woof, I watched the game in a bar with a dog who barked whenever the Seahawks scored. It was great. Specifically when tight end Luke Willson reeled in a late touchdown, the dog sounded like he was saying “Luke.” I guess I’m just bragging about watching the Seahawks game with a very good dog.</p>
<p>• Also woof? Eddie Lacy who, despite being active this week after sitting last week, rushed for 0 yards on 0 carries. Rookie Chris Carson scored his first touchdown and looked fine in his role as primary ball carrier behind a wholly inept offensive line. Second-year running back C.J. Prosise looked useful as a guy who can provide a pass catching outlet when Russ is about to get destroyed. What’s Lacy’s role on the team going forward? Hell, what’s Thomas Rawls’ role? I like them both as players and people, and they’re valuable depth, but it’s weird to think that neither will be a primary ball carrier without something bad happening.</p>
<p>• One more woof? Let’s give it up for the officials who nearly lost control of the game with two bad calls involving Richard Sherman (the first of which benefitted the Titans in myriad dumb ways, the second of which managed to not punish Sherman for a late hit on Marcus Mariota). They were missing calls all over the place. This is not to blame them for the loss at all; on balance their shoddy work evened out (they 100% stole a touchdown from Titans cornerback Adoree Jackson). I think this is just to say that refs, like players, can get too hot to perform.</p>
<p>• I guess the question now, as the team sits at 1-2 and the Rams look pretty good at 2-1, is whether or not the Seahawks are pretty good themselves despite their record. And… I don’t know. I think they are? I think we saw flashes of excellent offense that can be replicated going forward. I think that the defense is more likely to look like the unit that dominated the first half on Sunday, rather than the unit that was torn apart in the third quarter. I think the special teams will be better as players get healthy and the coaches can gameplan for the new guys they’ll have to deploy.</p>
<p>But it’s really tough to say. When things go bad it’s really bad, and it’s tough for me as someone deeply invested to judge. I wish I could watch this team through impartial eyes. I watched some of the Sunday night game afterwards, and Kirk Cousins was slinging perfect pass after perfect pass as Derek Carr looked like his brother David, missing wildly at the first sign of pressure. But it didn’t really change my opinion of either quarterback in a seismic way. I think they’re both good but not great signal callers, capable of winning big games or losing badly in any given week.</p>
<p> I can’t see a Russell Wilson led offense that way. His capacity for magic, his flashes of excellence, his ability to control the game with his legs while avoiding turnovers… the highs are just so high. And then watching him miss throws after getting hit a dozen times a week… the lows are nigh unwatchable. But I can’t tell if that’s really that different than Derek Carr looks to someone who loves the Raiders, or Cousins to a Washington fan. And are those teams good? Is anyone good? Is anything anything?</p>
<p>I can’t tell you. But I can tell you that if, as expected, Andrew Luck doesn’t play next week, and they lose to a really bad Colts team starting a backup QB next week that the Seahawks are in the danger zone. Fortunately, I really don’t think that’s going to happen.</p>
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Mon, 25 Sep 2017 10:40:13 -0700Portland MercuryBrad's Status: A Movie About a Rich White Guy That You Might Actually Likehttp://www.portlandmercury.com/film/2017/09/20/19329559/spoiler-for-brads-status-hes-sad
http://www.portlandmercury.com/film/2017/09/20/19329559/spoiler-for-brads-status-hes-sadMegan Burbank
by Megan Burbank
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/19334736/1506014823-film-bradsstatus.jpg" alt="film-bradsstatus.jpg" title=""></div></p>
<p>I have a low tolerance for tales of privileged white guy ennui, so I’m pleased to tell you that <em>Brad’s Status</em>, starring Ben Stiller as a dad with an existential crisis, is (twist!) one I actually liked!</p>
<p>The latest from Mike White (director of <em>Year of the Dog</em>, and writer of <em>Freaks and Geeks, Chuck & Buck</em>, and <em>Beatriz at Dinner</em>), <em>Brad’s Status</em> perfectly captures the way anxious people avoid addressing big underlying fears by coming up with peripheral worries to quietly freak out about.</p>
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Mon, 25 Sep 2017 10:29:27 -0700Portland MercuryTimbers Thrash Orlando As Valeri Reaches 20 Goalshttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/24/19341667/por-orl
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/24/19341667/por-orlAbe Asher
by Abe Asher
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style=""><img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/19341852/1506310810-im3.jpg" alt="IM3.jpg" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers</span></div></div></p>
<p>With a grueling three-game road-trip in the rearview mirror, the Portland Timbers entered their final four games of the MLS regular season looking to roll up wins and momentum heading into the playoffs starting at the end of October. </p>
<p>On Sunday night, they got off to a sensational start. </p>
<p>The Timbers stomped all over a moribund Orlando City side 3-0 at Providence Park, playing with the kind of infectious confidence and attacking verve that makes this team one of the league's most dangerous.</p>
<p>Diego Valeri extended his record goalscoring streak to nine matches, Darren Mattocks put in the performance of his Timbers career, and Orlando had two players sent off in a game that was a rout from the first minute forward.</p>
<p>Judging by the table, this was always a game Portland was expected to win. Jason Kreis sent Orlando out in a 4-4-2 diamond, and spent the next forty-five minutes pacing his technical area as they were absolutely eaten alive. </p>
<p>With both Cyle Larin and Dom Dwyer playing up top — and Giles Barnes wandering aimlessly just underneath them — Orlando's undermanned in midfield and completely overwhelmed by the Timbers' pressure. The visitors couldn't hold the ball, and they couldn't keep up. </p>
<p>Mattocks was a big reason why. Caleb Porter has kept faith with Mattocks as his starting striker all the way through Fanendo Adi's absence, and on this night, with Adi's return now imminent, Mattocks rewarded the coach who has never left his corner with a howitzer of a performance. </p>
<p>No one has ever questioned Mattocks' raw athletic ability. The difference in this game, though, was that Mattocks knew what he wanted to do with all that athleticism — run in behind Orlando's center backs time after time after time. The result, for those center backs, was a bloodbath. </p>
<p>In the thirteenth minute, Mattocks went tearing into the penalty area chasing a ball from Diego Chara. Johnathan Spector scythed Mattocks down, and Baldomero Toledo — aided by video review — gave a penalty, which Valeri sent blazing into the righthand corner to give the Timbers the lead. </p>
<p>The other key in Portland's total dominance was the calibration of its central midfield. With David Guzman absent due to a hamstring injury, Darlington Nagbe again started next to Chara — and it was Nagbe's positioning, as a stay-at-home number six — that made the difference.</p>
<p>With Nagbe sitting deep, Chara was free to wreak havoc higher up the field — and wreak havoc he did. The Colombian created both of the Timbers' first half goals, and his pass to set up the latter of those tallies was worthy of Valeri himself. </p>
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style=""><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/19341854/1506310861-im2.jpg" alt="IM2.jpg" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers</span></div></div></p>
<p>In the thirtieth minute, Chara strode into midfield, looked off a central run from Mattocks, and instead sent a fabulous pass into the path of the curled run of Dairon Asprilla bombing down the right. The Colombian motored onto the ball, and sent it across for Mattocks to slide in for 2-0.</p>
<p>It was swashbuckling, go-for-broke soccer — an opening half hour was as good as anything we've seen from the Timbers this year.</p>
<p>There wasn't a single position on the field where an Orlando player was winning his matchup. Kreis changed to a 4-2-3-1 for the second half in an attempt to shore up his midfield, but it was too little and too late: one minute into the second half, Spector was sent packing for taking a chunk out of Valeri.</p>
<p>The rest of the evening was a Timbers shooting gallery. If not for Bendik — who, tellingly, is on his way to leading the league in saves for a second straight season — the game could have finished 6-0. </p>
<p>But not even Bendik could prevent Valeri from taking the Golden Boot lead just before the hour mark. It was another fabulous goal — Chara pinging the ball into Valeri, Valeri back-heeling for Blanco, Blanco touching in Mattocks, Mattocks firing off of Bendik, and Valeri cleaning up the rebound.</p>
<p>With the goal, the Maestro set another series of marks: he is the first player in Timbers history to score 20 times in a season, and the first midfielder in MLS history to score 20 in a season, and, thanks to the earlier penalty, the first player in MLS history to score in nine straight games.</p>
<p>Valeri got a thunderous MVP chant from the crowd after the second goal, and even the notoriously intense Porter couldn't resist the prevailingly happy mood. Mattocks got an ear-to-ear grin when he came off with fifteen minutes to go — and when Nagbe came off in the dying minutes, he got a full-out hug. </p>
<p>The boss had every reason to feel good. When he entered the league five years ago, Kreis was the one coach Porter couldn't get past. In the four years since, Porter has won MLS Cup and established himself as one of the league's most respected coaches while Kreis — who got this game completely wrong — has been fired and missed the playoffs three times.</p>
<p>And while Kreis was fired after New York City's expansion season, the last six months have surely been the most humiliating of his career. After starting the season with six wins in seven, Orlando has won just three of their last twenty-three. </p>
<p>Their frustration showed in the second half. Captain Antonio Nocerino was booked for dissent, while substitute fullback PC announced his late entrance by elbowing Chara in the throat in a free-kick wall for a straight red card. </p>
<p>The Timbers spent the last few minutes knocking the ball around up two men, savoring one of their best performances of the season. </p>
<p>For one person in particular, this was a night to remember. Five-year-old Derrick Tellez, battling cancer, started his Make-A-Wish weekend by training with the team on Friday. He ended it on Sunday by raising a log slice in front of the Timbers Army — and, at least for a moment, everything was right in Portland.</p>
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style=""><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/19341853/1506310828-im1.jpg" alt="IM1.jpg" title=""><div class="image-caption-and-credit"> <span class="imageCredit">Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers</span></div></div></p>
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Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland TimbersMon, 25 Sep 2017 09:01:00 -0700Portland MercuryGood Morning, News: NFL Defeats Trump, One Hundred Billion to Ziphttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19341945/good-morning-news-nfl-defeats-trump-one-hundred-billion-to-zip
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/25/19341945/good-morning-news-nfl-defeats-trump-one-hundred-billion-to-zipWm.™ Steven Humphrey
by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey
<p><strong>GOOD MORNING, BLOGTOWN!</strong> I like the way we carry on, his love will send me on and on. With my man... <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2RKb1R7jM0">people out there can understand. </a>LET'S GO TO PRESS.</p>
<p>Yesterday across the <strong>NFL</strong>, teams protested Trump's racist, anti-American statements about football players who kneel during the national anthem by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/the-nfl-responds-to-trump-by-embracing-its-diversity/2017/09/24/07d57814-a15c-11e7-ade1-76d061d56efa_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_brewer-7p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.aa65bd40e682">kneeling, locking arms, or skipping the song entirely. </a> This morning, Trump embarrassed himself and the country again by tweeting about the spectators booing and how "these are fans who demand respect for our Flag!” (Said the man who disrespects America and democracy on a daily basis.)</p>
<p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rico Lavelle sang the anthem AND took a knee <a href="https://t.co/mgno4HCzZQ">pic.twitter.com/mgno4HCzZQ</a><br />— Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasmineLWatkins/status/912001006262788098">September 24, 2017</a></blockquote><br /><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">fuck him up, faye <a href="https://t.co/4qSpPYXYFm">pic.twitter.com/4qSpPYXYFm</a><br />— jordan 🌹🌹 (@JordanUhl) <a href="https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/911800929434947586">September 24, 2017</a></blockquote><br /><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Oh, and now <strong>Trump</strong> is switching his allegiance over to (steel yourself for the surprise of your life)<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/25/trump-nfl-fight-nascar-243091?lo=ap_a1"> NASCAR. </a>Yeeeee-haw!</p>
<p>And the president's racism continues with an expansion of his already<strong> racist travel ban</strong>. Trump has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-administration-changes-travel-ban-countries/2017/09/24/1fef7cfe-a140-11e7-ade1-76d061d56efa_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_travelban-8pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.f2f9cc9d9159">expanded the ban on travelers</a> coming into the US, to now include Chad and North Korea—even though very few people from North Korea visit the country.</p>
<p>Since the <strong>Repeal and Replace 3.0 bill </strong>is getting the thumbs down from Rand and McCain, the GOP is making a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/new-version-of-health-care-bill-will-help-alaska-and-maine--home-of-two-holdout-senators/2017/09/25/24697f62-a188-11e7-b14f-f41773cd5a14_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_healthcare-730a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.337e8fe3ce1a">desperate attempt to bribe possible holdouts</a> Murkowski and Collins by making the health care plan particularly advantageous to their home states.</p>
<p>Former congressman <strong>Anthony Weiner</strong> has been sentenced to<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/anthony-weiner-sentenced-sexting-case/story?id=50073424"> 21 months in jail on charges of sexting a teenager.</a></p>
<p>Obama apparently tried to warn <strong>Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg</strong> about <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obama-tried-to-give-zuckerberg-a-wake-up-call-over-fake-news-on-facebook/2017/09/24/15d19b12-ddac-4ad5-ac6e-ef909e1c1284_story.html?utm_term=.ef073128d11a">his site being used to spread fake news and possibly influencing the election</a>, but he was mostly ignored by the CEO, who is only acting now because of increased political pressure.</p>
<p>Remember when Trump chanted "lock her up" because Hillary Clinton used her private email for government business? Trump son-in-law <strong>Jared Kushner</strong> has been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/25/jared-kushner-used-private-email-account-for-official-business-reports">using his private email for government business</a>. LOCK... HIM... UP.</p>
<p>Meanwhile in Alabama, a battle is brewing over who will take the senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions. In one corner there's <strong>Luther Strange</strong>, a terrible person backed by Trump and the GOP establishment. In the other,<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/25/battle-for-the-soul-of-the-republican-party-rages-on-in-alabama-race"> there's Roy Moore, a fucking whack-job.</a> Sooooooo... nobody wins.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/24/eight-people-injured-in-church-shooting-in-tennessee">One dead and seven were wounded</a> in a <strong>Tennessee church shooting </strong>over the weekend.</p>
<p>A lack of food is now a serious problem for <strong>Puerto Rico</strong>, after <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/24/us/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-agriculture-.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0">Hurricane Maria wiped out 80 percent of their crops.</a></p>
<p><strong>Uber </strong>is apologizing for their (despicable) past actions, after <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/25/technology/uber-london-ceo-apology-petition/index.html">London decides to end their contract with them.</a></p>
<p>Now let's look at the <strong>WEATHER</strong>: <a href="http://www.kptv.com/category/214284/7-day-forecast">Cloudy and a possible shower</a> today with a high of 66.</p>
<p>And finally, it's MONDAY! You can pet me if you like. (And I'll be just <strong>as chill as the chihuahua in this video</strong>.)<br /><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe src="//content.jwplatform.com/players/y0cf0219-GZZAtvYh.html" width="320" height="260" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto"></iframe></div></p>
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Brett Carlsen / GettyMon, 25 Sep 2017 08:30:19 -0700Portland MercuryThings to Do This Week: September 25-28http://www.portlandmercury.com/things-to-do/2017/09/25/19330907/things-to-do-this-week-september-25-28
http://www.portlandmercury.com/things-to-do/2017/09/25/19330907/things-to-do-this-week-september-25-28Mercury Staff
by Mercury Staff
<p>Well, this week pretty much constitutes the last of September. The first month of fall is about to go on the history books, but before that chapter closes out, there's a whole bunch of good times to be had. The <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19099526/andrew-wk">prime minister of partypartyparty</a> is in Portland, so that <i>alone</i> elevates the week's entertainment value, but there's also <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19320482/a-joint-for-black-portland">a stirring storytelling showcase for Black Portlanders</a>, a spacey edition of the <I>Mercury</I>'s <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19289406/sound-vision">Sound + Vision</a> that will put ears in orbit, <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19279939/grow-your-own-book-launch">a book launch that doubles as a cannabis festival,</a><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18844774/sturgill-simpson"> Sturgill Simpson</a> sweeps through the city, and <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19147324/ben-folds-tall-heights">Ben Folds</a> makes his last pop stand before spending the next few years advising the National Symphony Orchestra. Send September out on a high note—hit the links below and load your plate accordingly</p>
<hr />
<small>Jump to: <a href="#monday">Monday</a> | <a href="#tuesday">Tuesday</a> | <a href="#wednesday">Wednesday</a> | <a href="#thursday">Thursday</a></small>
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<p><center><a id="monday"><h2>Monday, Sept 25</h2></a>
</center></p>
<p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:500px;"><img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/19144934/0008014170_10.jpg" alt="" title="" width="500" ></div></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19144943/japanese-breakfast-mannequin-pussy-the-spirit-of-the-beehive">Japanese Breakfast, Mannequin Pussy, The Spirit Of The Beehive</a></b><br /> Last year Japanese Breakfast (AKA Michelle Zauner) dropped “Everybody Wants to Love You”—the lead single from her debut LP, <i>Psychopomp</i>—like an electro-pop glitterbomb. With her gorgeous new record, <i>Soft Sounds from Another Planet</i>, Zauner swan dives into the cosmos with zero-gravity melodies that float and expand while she sings about everything from road head to a sci-fi love story of her own creation. CIARA DOLAN<br />
<B>9 pm, Holocene, $12-24, all ages</b></p>
<P><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19099526/andrew-wk">Andrew W.K.</a></b><br /> America’s favorite party enthusiast is still partying, traversing North America and Europe with his full band for the first time in five years for The Party Never Dies Tour. You may only know him from his 2001 song “Party Hard” (he really, really likes parties) with its iconic nose-bleed album cover that thousands of millennials try to replicate every year at Halloween, but he’s a legitimately great musician, a hell of an entertainer, and a good dude (look up his <i>Village Voice</i> and <i>Vice</i> advice columns). And I’m not just saying all this because I grew up down the street from him in Michigan (shout out to Bader Park and the Wilkes-Krier family!). DOUG BROWN<br />
<B>8:30 pm, Wonder Ballroom, $25</b></p>
<P><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19250911/brockhampton-romil">Brockhampton, Romil</a></b><br /> It might sound like a snooty country club, but Brockhampton wants you to think of them as a boy band. Actually, the LA/San Marcos collective is one of the most progressive and inclusive forces in hip-hop right now, taking a top-down approach on everything from production to visuals. Brockhampton released the first two installments of their <i>Saturation</i> trilogy earlier this year, and now their first official North American tour brings them to a Portland stage. NED LANNAMANN<br />
<B>8 pm, Peter's Room at the Roseland, all ages</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18982058/oh-sees-dreamdecay-arrington-de-dionyso">Oh Sees, Dreamdecay, Arrington De Dionyso</a></b><br /> Prolific singer/songwriter and guitarist John Dwyer and his unrelenting noise, pop, and psych rock outfit return to the Crystal Ballroom for their second headlining show at the venue this year.<Br />
<B>9 pm, Crystal Ballroom, $19.99-25, all ages</b></p>
<p><b><I><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/movies/431256/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind">Close Encounters of the Third Kind</a></i></b><Br /> Spielberg's acclaimed and beloved 1977 classic about an obsessed asshole who abandons his family. <br />
<B>6:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19236422/death-valley-girls">Death Valley Girls</a></b><br /> Death Valley Girls’ hellish punk is inescapably magnetic, like running into a tornado and relishing the hair-whipping chaos. CIARA DOLAN<Br />
<B>9 pm, Mississippi Studios, $10-12</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19308348/shandytown">Shandytown</a></b><br /> Pono Brewing hosts six bartenders, five restaurants, and a long list of cocktails at Shandytown, a party honoring one of the best things you can do with a beer: Add spirits and mixers to it. Admission includes six shandys and food, and when the night is done, you will help decide which bartender hooked up the best Shandy in Portland.<br />
<B>5 pm, Taqueria Nueve, $45</b></p>
<P><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19329203/josh-ritter">Josh Ritter</a></b><br /> The Moscow, Idaho born and raised singer/songwriter brings his sweet and heartfelt blend of storytelling-driven Americana to Music Millennium for an intimate in-store performance supporting his latest full-length, <i>Gathering</i>.<br />
<B>7 pm, Music Millennium, free, all ages</b></p>
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<p><center><a id="tuesday"><h2>Tuesday, Sept 26</h2></a>
</center></p>
<p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:500px;"><img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/19320481/https-_2f_2fcdn.evbuc.com_2fimages_2f35214362_2f94185560915_2f1_2foriginal.jpg" alt="" title="" width="500" ></div></p>
<P><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19320482/a-joint-for-black-portland">A Joint for Black Portland</a></b><br /> SuperThank, a non-profit that fosters “radical community gratitude” events, presents A Joint for Black Portland to give thanks to the organizations, people and events that make living in Portland as a Black person enjoyable (and tolerable). The event seeks to un-erase the experiences and community of Black Portlanders by featuring live storytelling from speakers like economist/entrepreneur Stephen Green (Pitch Black), and photographer Intisar Abioto (<i>The Black Portlanders</i>), both of whose storytelling has been featured at TEDxPortland. Then DJ Klyph will play the cuts until 10 pm. JENNI MOORE<Br />
<B>6 pm, Pensole Footwear Design Academy, $5-10, all ages</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19106077/invsn-darkswoon">INVSN, Darkswoon</a></b><br /> Sweden’s INVSN has been something of a work in progress. Starting out as the demure, folksy cousin to the furious hardcore pioneers of Refused and Lost Patrol Band, Dennis Lyxzén’s side project morphed to Invasionen, then just INVSN. With the evolution of the name came intense stylistic progressions, as heard on the band’s second full-length, <i>The Beautiful Stories</i>, released in June. Armed with a post-punk cowl, INVSN’s industrial sheen reflects Lyxzén’s devotion to groove-oriented rock, whether it’s as destructive as it was with Refused, or as soulful as it was with the (International) Noise Conspiracy. Here, songs like “Immer Zu” approach NIN territory, with factory metal pings and darkwave repetitions. The LP is just seven tracks long, but what it lacks in duration, it makes up for on swelling post-rock bangers like “This Constant War,” which sounds like it could’ve been a Freedom B-side. RYAN J. PRADO<br />
<B>9 pm, Doug Fir, $13-15</b></p>
<P><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19270182/emo-nite">Emo Nite</a></b><br /> Dust off your My Chemical Romance T-shirt, apply excessive eyeliner, and get ready to shamelessly scream Dashboard Confessional lyrics at Holocene's bi-monthly emo night (FKA Taking Back Tuesday). Know all the words to "Sic Transit Gloria"? You're ready. XxscenexX forever. BRI BREY<br />
<B>9 pm, Holocene, $10</b></p>
<P><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/movies/4375921/grindhouse-film-festival-deep-red">Grindhouse Film Festival: <i>Deep Red</i></a></b><br /> This month’s entry in the Hollywood’s celebration of Grindhouse cinema is a rare 35mm print of Dario Argento’s 1975 giallo classic, featuring the hallmarks of a great time with the Italian madman: garishly beautiful cinematography, innovative and disturbing kills, and of course—that synthy, sleazy, serpentine sound of Goblin poured all over the soundtrack. A carefully curated reel of Italian horror trailers precedes the feature. BOBBY ROBERTS<br />
<B>7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19283555/the-portland-mini-maker-faire">The Portland Mini Maker Faire</a></b><br /> Check out the thriving community of people who make things in Portland, from 3D printing robots to sustainable artists to blacksmiths, jewelers, and rocket builders. The Portland Mini Maker Faire has a making mode for everyone, and should serve as a serious shop of DIY-project inspiration. MARJORIE SKINNER<br />
<B>Sept 26-27, 9:30 am, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry</b></P>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19218331/angelique-kidjo-and-the-oregon-symphony">Angélique Kidjo & the Oregon Symphony</a></b><br /> Renowned Beninese singer/songwriter and activist Angélique Kidjo brings her powerful voice to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall to perform a career-spanning set of favorites with backing from conductor Gast Waltzing and the Oregon Symphony.<br />
<B>7:30 pm, Arlene Schniter Concert Hall, $35-95, all ages</b></p>
<p><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18927775/city-and-colour-david-brazan">City and Colour, David Brazan</a></b><br /> When he's not helping front the Ontario-based post-hardcore band Alexisonfire, Canadian singer-songwriter Dallas Green can be found performing blues rock and folk with his solo project, City and Colour.<br />
<B>8 pm, Roseland, $35-50, all ages</b></p>
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<p><center><a id="wednesday"><h2>Wednesday, Sept 27</h2></a>
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<p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:500px;"><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/19327752/alien.jpg" alt="" title="" width="500" ></div></p>
<P><B><I><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/movies/8948956/alien">Alien</a></i></b><br /> Once upon the ’70s, before there were doll-eyed albino Michelin Men, before fanged vagina-mouth Rasta-monsters from outer space barged in for a good rassle, before all the Winona-ing and cloning and sad Muppet Baby abominations, before the AIDS allegory and the Vietnam metaphors, before the titular nasty became just a screeching bug you can run over in your car, there was <i>Alien</i>, a movie about tired space truckers stuck in a floating haunted house with an unknowable, unbeatable Freudian nightmare made of genitalia, teeth, and KY Jelly. It is probably the best horror movie ever made, and it’s screens this week in tribute to Harry Dean Stanton, who counts among his myriad indelible movie moments the <i>first ever</i> on-screen death via full-grown xenomorph. A death witnessed only by Jones the Cat, who basically got him killed and didn’t do shit to stop it because cats are <i>dicks</i>. BOBBY ROBERTS<br />
<B>9:35 pm, Academy Theater, $3-4</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19289406/sound-vision">Sound + Vision: Dan Dan, Wet Fruit</a></b><br /> A love letter to Pittsburgh synth duo Zombi, Portland band Dan Dan is a soundtrack-y prog trio with NO VOCALS. Do not even try to expect vocals. Just be chill—but also full of high-tempo energy, like Dan Dan. SUZETTE SMITH <br />
<B>9 pm, Mississippi Studios, free</b></p>
<P><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19064691/sheer-mag-tenement-tony-molina">Sheer Mag, Tenement, Tony Molina</a></b><br /> The Philadelphia-based punk outfit bring their infectious '70s classic rock sound back to Portland for an all ages show supporting their debut full-length, <i>Need to Feel Your Love</i>, the follow-up to the trio of EPs that garnered them plenty of well-deserved attention.<Br />
<B>8 pm, Hawthorne Theatre, $12-15</b></p>
<p><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/movies/19327625/re-run-theater-irwin-allen-60s-sci-fi">Re-run Theater: Irwin Allen '60s Sci-Fi</a></b><br /> The Hollywood’s tribute to classic television. This month: A pair of hour-long episodes from super-producer Irwin Allen. Best known for his paint-by-numbers disaster films of the ’70s (<i>The Poseidon Adventure</i>, <i>The Towering Inferno</i>), Allen got his first taste of serious shlock success in the ’60s, producing <i>Lost in Space</i> and <i>Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea</i>. One episode of each will be screened, with period-appropriate (and slightly psychedelic) commercials played during the commercial breaks. BOBBY ROBERTS<br />
<B>7:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre, $7-9</b></p>
<P><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19279939/grow-your-own-book-launch"><i>Grow Your Own</I> Book Launch</a></b><br /> Book launches tend to feature the author reading a couple passages, signing a couple copies and answering a couple questions. <i>This</i> book launch features an entire cannabis fair, with opportunities to meet the people helping transform cannabis cultivation into a legitimate industry. <br />
<B>6 pm, Holocene</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19294604/the-cool-kids-patio-show">The Cool Kids Patio Show</a></b><br /> The Doug Fir patio hosts one of the finest free stand-up showcases in town, paired perfectly with some of our city's best singer/songwriters. This time, Emily Overstreet provides the sounds while David Mascorro, Dylan Jenkins, and Amanda Arnold bring the jokes. Hosted by Andie Main.<br />
<B>6 pm, Doug Fir, free</b></p>
<hr>
<p><center><a id="thursday"><h2>Thursday, Sept 28</h2></a>
</center></p>
<p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:500px;"><img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/19331271/sturgill-simpson-64.jpg" alt="" title="" width="500" ></div></p>
<P><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/18844774/sturgill-simpson">Sturgill Simpson</a></b><br /> This is the concert I’ve been most looking forward to since I moved to Portland—this 39-year-old progressive southern country singer/songwriter is just awesome. Check out his last two albums: <i>Metamodern Sounds in Country Music</i> (“Turtles All the Way Down” is one of the best modern country songs, and his cover of British new wave song “The Promise” is <i>so good</i>), and last year’s <i>A Sailor’s Guide to Earth</i>, which won a Grammy for best country album. DOUG BROWN<br />
<B>8 pm, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $39.50-69.50, all ages</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/movies/18958564/portland-eco-film-festival">Portland EcoFilm Festival</a></b><br /> Considering the Trump administration's relentless assault on natural resources and national monuments, the Portland EcoFilm Festival is more important than ever. With a bunch of carefully curated features and shorts—many of which examine the land, people, and livelihoods of Oregonians—the fest boasts films about everything from river conservation to wilderness rock climbing to light pollution. Oh, and <i>Chinatown</i>—because this whole thing about America running out of water has been in the works for a while. ERIK HENRIKSEN<br />
<b>Sept 28-Oct 1, Hollywood Theatre, <a href="https://hollywoodtheatre.org/programs/series/portland-eco-film-festival/">click here</a> for titles and showtimes, $6-60</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19314435/landlines-mini-blinds-honey-bucket">Landlines, Mini Blinds, Honey Bucket</a></b><br /> Portland's premiere lo-fi indie rock and pop trio Landlines play a release show for their infectious new self-titled full-length. Like-minded locals Mini Blinds and Honey Bucket round out an all-around excellent bill with some catchy tunes of their own.<br /b>
<B>9 pm, The Fixin' To, $5</b></p>
<P><b><i><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/movies/374230/taxi-driver">Taxi Driver</a></i></b><br /> FUN FACT: <i>Taxi Driver</i> was originally titled <i>Bickle's Pickle</i>.<br />
<B>7 pm, Academy Theater, $3-4</b></p>
<P><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19147324/ben-folds-tall-heights">Ben Folds, Tall Heights</a></b><br /> The renowned singer/songwriter and producer brings his brand of piano-driven power-pop back to the Roseland for the Portland stop on his "Paper Airplane Request Tour."<br />
<B>8 pm, Roseland, $33-55</b></p>
<P><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19246555/todd-glass">Todd Glass</a></b><Br /> People who know comedy, know and love Todd Glass. The stand-up legend—who’s also the host of the great <i>The Todd Glass Show</i> podcast and the writer of a critically acclaimed and revealing 2014 memoir about his intense life, the LA comedy scene, and his sexual orientation—brings his trademark high-energy act to town. He’s doing five shows, so you have no excuse not to go to at least one of them. DOUG BROWN<br />
<B>Sept 28-30, Thurs 8 pm; Fri-Sat 7:30pm, 10 pm; Helium Comedy Club, $17-33</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19106082/frankie-rose-suburban-living-a-certain-smile">Frankie Rose, Suburban Living, A Certain Smile</a></b><br /> Need a soundtrack for rainy-day baking? Something for dancing around the kitchen licking cookie dough from spoons with your beloved, the precursor to a hot ’n’ heavy makeout sesh followed by a melancholy afterglow about this moment slipping into the past? Sure, you could put on the Cure, but Frankie Rose’s lovely echoing, gossamer dream-pop is the exact-perfect soundtrack. COURTNEY FERFUSON<br />
<B>9 pm, Doug Fir, $12</b></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19062961/dave-mason">Dave Mason</a></b><br /> The Australian singer/songwriter and Rock and Roll Hall Famer returns to the Aladdin Theater for a headlining performance celebrating his acclaimed 1970 album, <i>Alone Together</i>. <Br />
<B>8 pm, Aladdin Theater, $42.50-65</b></p>
<P><B><a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19297515/thirsty-city">Thirsty City</a></b><br /> Another month, another ThirstyCity, spotlighting some of the best up and coming hip-hop from around the country. This installment's featured headliner is Seattle-hailing producer and emcee Akira Gautama, with Alex Meltzer, Crocket King, Uglybootleg, and Billy Soul rounding out the bill.<Br />
<B>8:30 pm, The Know, $5-10</b></p>
<p>Don't forget to check out our <a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/events">Things To Do calendar</a> for <i>even more</I> things to do!</p>
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Mon, 25 Sep 2017 08:30:00 -0700Portland MercuryI'm here for the swifts, not your screaming child.http://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/24/19341860/im-here-for-the-swifts-not-your-screaming-child
http://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/24/19341860/im-here-for-the-swifts-not-your-screaming-childAnonymous
by Anonymous
<p>Watching the world's largest migration of Vaux Swifts dance and spiral down the Chapman School chimney is a truely magnificent experience. Hearing them chirp and sing would be part of this experience if your dumbass children would shut the hell up. Or more like, if you, their parents thought to tell them to do so. </p>
<p>One month out of the year, we're graced with this beautiful occurrence, and I have to listen to the sounds of children running, jumping, and screaming like it's a goddamn Chuck E. Cheese. Don't get me wrong, the kids playing and sliding down the hill on cardboard sleds is adorable, and it looks fun as hell. But when the swifts start to circle, it would be totally adult of you to tell your child, "it's time to sit down, the swifts are coming, and everyone would like to hear them." </p>
<p>If you don't want to do this, maybe you should stay home. Maybe you should appreciate that we didn't just go to watch, we came to listen, and your child is being disruptive to that experience. If it's easier for you to let your kid scream than teach them when it is or is not appropriate to do so, then let that brat scream at home, not at a place where I've come to appreciate nature. </p>
<p>So, please, consider being a good viewing neighbor, and silence your children instead of drowning them out, because that may come easily to you as someone who has to live with them, but I choose to hear the birds. </p>
<p>From the thousands of people there without children, thank you.</p>
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Sun, 24 Sep 2017 22:34:00 -0700Portland MercuryGoodbye and good luck smhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/24/19341453/goodbye-and-good-luck-sm
http://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/24/19341453/goodbye-and-good-luck-smAnonymous
by Anonymous
<p>Boss:</p>
<p>I am leaving. My getting-out date is December 18. If there's a repeat of what happened Friday, it will be sooner and without notice.</p>
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Sun, 24 Sep 2017 15:00:59 -0700Portland MercuryTo My Employerhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/24/19341446/to-my-employer
http://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/24/19341446/to-my-employerAnonymous
by Anonymous
<p>You run a crazy operation and I am getting out. The whole organization proves that a chichi rich people's school can have flocks of adoring parents but still be a sweatshop for staff. I've worked in special ed in local public schools for a decade, in some of the toughest classes (middle school behavioral disorders!), and haven't seen some of the things I've seen this year. And it's only September. And...I'm sorely tempted to drop a note to the Health Department about a certain ongoing situation.</p>
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Sun, 24 Sep 2017 14:26:39 -0700Portland MercuryHot Lesbianhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/24/19340992/hot-lesbian
http://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/24/19340992/hot-lesbianAnonymous
by Anonymous
<p>I am kinda tired of hetero woman thinking I am all about them simply because I am a lesbian.<br />And yes. I am a witch who is also a Goddess worshipper. I talk a love language. I was created in lovemaking bliss. Love child , yes. But fucking eh. I love a smart woman. A brilliant woman. A woman who has held down the trenches. Knows what it means to go down the street and walk hand in hand with me. I am not your experiment or here for your entertainment. You have no idea the quality of women I have had the privilege to hold in my arms. Wake up to. Make love to. Talk deep soul language with. So please if your fucking curious. Step up with some respect...</p>
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Sun, 24 Sep 2017 08:17:15 -0700Portland MercuryThanks for the Tiphttp://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/23/19340297/thanks-for-the-tip
http://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/23/19340297/thanks-for-the-tipAnonymous
by Anonymous
<p>I watched a group of high school kids steal a tip jar from a local pizza place tonight. The worst part, to me, wasn't the fact that they stole probably what amounted to 10-15 dollars, or that they shattered the tip jar in the street, or that they inconvenienced the staff and police offers who had to deal with the situation after the kids cowardly scurried down the street. The worst part is that they got away with it. They will continue their shitty behavior in their shitty existence and think nothing of it. Good luck in your future endeavors, assholes.</p>
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Sat, 23 Sep 2017 23:44:06 -0700Portland MercuryAnything Hawthornehttp://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/23/19339948/anything-hawthorne
http://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/23/19339948/anything-hawthorneAnonymous
by Anonymous
<p>I hate everything Hawthorne. <br />Especially the street. Example, across Ben and Jerrys, how there's a congregation of street kids or travelers that sit there all day, who all look alike, that leave their trash and pollute and populate Hawthorne during the whole summer. What's up with that street corner? <br />Number 14 bus I hate riding but I have to at times. It stops at every stop to pick someone up or drop someone off. Then newcomers get on full of exuberance for their new city, yapping about all the cool and weird Portland hotspots. <br />The worst thing about Hawthorne is the bridge. In one week, the bridge was up 3 out of 5 rides causing a delay of at least 20 minutes. Then, leaving downtown at the right time will take forever to get over the bridge. Then coming in to town at the right time, with the bridge up will take forever. Add to that one lane closed due to construction on 2nd and Main, you're screwed for 30 min. I wonder what the new courthouse will do when it's in operation over on Madison and 1st? <br />Does this city ever think about what it's doing? Who and what it's impacting? Have you ever noticed every lot with a new building coming up? Have you seen all the bulldozers and cranes all over the city? What is happening to this city? <br />Oh okay, change is inevitable, if I don't like it, I should get the hell out? Okay, great idea! I wonder how many more great ideas you special creators and unique innovators there are who work a few hours each week in this city?</p>
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Sat, 23 Sep 2017 18:58:24 -0700Portland MercuryTake Care Cause I Don'thttp://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/23/19339946/take-care-cause-i-dont
http://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/23/19339946/take-care-cause-i-dontAnonymous
by Anonymous
<p>I can't hardly function in society anymore. Only way I can is with a good buzz. Everyone wants to point the blame elsewhere. Being accountable for our own actions doesn't count anymore. It's everywhere I go. I just don't care for my actions anymore. I simply don't give a fuck. Society has turned me into an ass. I don't care because I'm not to blame. Until I see other members of society trying or caring, I won't. Until I see nice gestures to me, I won't make an effort. Is it because I'm not a mom with a carriage or cute baby? Because I'm not an overweight person who can't take care of myself? Because im not an old fart hobbling around? Because I dont have a cane, walker, wheelchair, or scooter? Because im not a female? If you're in a crowded aisle, why must you block the whole aisle with your cart in the middle, you checking out something on one end and your kids/friends clueless on the other side? Do you have zero awareness a lot people want to get by? It is busy so you might want to think about how this day isn't about you. The same goes for that crowded self checkout at that awful fucking downtown Safeway. People want to get by, but you, your cart, and teenagers are blocking any access for someone to walk by. When I come walking through, I dont care if I hit you. I dont care if I didnt say excuse me. I didnt on purpose. You say, at least say excuse me. I turn and say, you know you could move out the way. It's a war and I don't care.</p>
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Sat, 23 Sep 2017 18:50:27 -0700Portland MercuryNo Tigers Were Harmed in the Making of The Tiger Hunter (We Assume)http://www.portlandmercury.com/film/2017/09/20/19329566/the-tiger-hunter-does-not-contain-tiger-hunting-does-contain-other-stuff
http://www.portlandmercury.com/film/2017/09/20/19329566/the-tiger-hunter-does-not-contain-tiger-hunting-does-contain-other-stuffElinor Jones
by Elinor Jones
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/19334725/1506014452-film-tigerhunter.jpg" alt="film-tigerhunter.jpg" title=""></div></p>
<p><em>The Tiger Hunter</em> is the fictional story of an Indian immigrant, Sami, who’s played by <em>Community</em>’s Danny Pudi and who does not, in fact, hunt tigers. But his dad did! We don’t really see any tiger hunting in this movie, which is fine with me. I like tigers, and that probably would have been sad. Anyway, Sami grows up in a small Indian town where his father—the actual tiger hunter—is a hero. Sami wants to be just like him, but somehow gets it into his head that Chicago is the place to make this happen. Oh, and all of this takes place in the 1970s, and Sami is <em>also</em> trying to prove to his childhood sweetheart that he’s a successful microwave engineer. Even excluding tigers, this movie has quite a bit going on.</p>
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Sat, 23 Sep 2017 10:29:10 -0700Portland MercuryHorrible Piece of Human Garbagehttp://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/22/19337693/horrible-piece-of-human-garbage
http://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/22/19337693/horrible-piece-of-human-garbageAnonymous
by Anonymous
<p>You were the girl at the Goldfrapp concert who pushed her way up behind me, stood there for a few songs loudly clapping out of time, and then tried to shove past me. I tried to block you and apparently that made you angry cause you pushed even harder. I turned towards you, cause you were yelling at me, and you said "I'm only trying to get to my friends over there" pointing in the other direction. So I decided to let you through. WELL, then you pushed the girl next to me and clearly were not going to your friends cause you stood right next to me. Incensed by you're lies and shoving of my neighbor, I attempted to remove you, a rash mistake on my part but a fairly common reaction to such poor behavior. You got up in my face and screamed that I not touch you. I knew in that moment that I could have easily punched you in the face, but I backed off knowing that I didn't want a fight. You then proceeded to stand in front of my neighbor obscuring her view for the rest of the show still continuing to clap out of time. I also demanded, without response, where your friends were, but you still had no shame and ignored me and stood there stubbornly. Bottom line, you are a worthless piece of human garbage. You are very lucky that I did not hurt you, or follow you home when I saw you outside. You should be more careful, behaving like that will eventually get you involved with someone who does not have their anger in check.</p>
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Fri, 22 Sep 2017 15:45:35 -0700Portland MercurySavage Love Letter of the Day: Another One That Got Awayhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/22/19337613/savage-love-letter-of-the-day-another-one-that-got-away
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/22/19337613/savage-love-letter-of-the-day-another-one-that-got-awayDan Savage
Who shows up at this party but...Mr. One Who Got Away.
by Dan Savage
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:700px"><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/stranger/imager/u/original/25427022/1505955617-dan.jpg" alt="DAN.jpg" title=""></div></p>
<blockquote><p>I've got a story about The One that Got Away... and then ten years later showed up again. I really need some advice.</p>
<p>Thirty-year-old gay guy here. Ten years ago on a night out with friends, I met a guy who I felt instant chemistry with. The two of us spent the whole night hanging out/making out. He lived a long way away and was leaving super-early the next morning, so we weren't able to spend the night together. But we exchanged details and stayed in touch.</p>
<p>We were both really into each other, and while we didn't start a long-distance relationship, we did have a pretty close and emotionally intense friendship (all over e-mail, instant messenger, etc.). I tend to fall for guys hard, and this guy felt like the Real Deal, so I was coming on pretty strong. Too strong—I was pushing for something he didn't feel ready for. To make matters worse, he and I both went through a pretty rough depression at this time. After a year of emotional rollercoasters, we finally had a falling out and fell out of touch. I knew I'd pushed too hard, and was so embarrassed about what I'd done that I didn't want to reach out to him in case it would make things worse.</p>
<p>As time went on, we were no longer facebook friends and I lost all his contact details. But to me he was always "the one that got away"—and it hurt to know it was my out-of-control emotions had caused it. But I took it as a learning experience, cherished the good memories, and moved on.</p>
<p>Fast forward to last month.</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p>I'm visiting a friend out of town and he throws a party at his place. And who shows up at this party but... Mr. One Who Got Away. Turned out he'd gone to high school with a friend of my friend's, and was visiting that weekend too. He was just as gorgeous and charming as ten years ago. We patched things up—he thought he'd been the one to fuck things up—and actually ended up spending two nights in my hotel room together. It was amazing, and we both kept saying how happy we were to have met again.</p>
<p>We've had a couple serious conversations since then. He lives a long, long way away from me. I'm not a fan of long distance, though for him I'd try. But he says he's had some bad relationships recently and doesn't want to embark on another one. I totally respect that, and I know it wasn't anything like "fate" that brought us back together. But I can't get this guy out of my head. And yet I also don't want to make the mistake I made before, of pushing him into something he's not ready for.</p>
<p>What do you think? Would be grateful for your advice.</p>
<p><em>Fated And Rare</em></p></blockquote>
<p><em>Don’t</em> have an LDR. <em>Do</em> go see him, invite him to come see you, and continue to see each other, casually and occasionally, without feeling like you need to put a label on it—or a ring, for that matter. If you're still making an effort to see each other a year and a few visits from now, FAR, you can start talking about labels and moves and rings.</p>
<p>Also, and forgive me for this, but...</p>
<p>"I've had some bad relationships recently and don't want to embark on another one" could be a big little white lie. It's entirely possible he's had a string of bad relationships and is now gun-, dick-, and boyfriend-shy. It's also possible that he's not as into you as you are into him, FAR, and he only said that to be kind. So if you offer to come see him—casually and occasionally—and he passes... then you'll have to do a little auto-translation. That'll mean his "I've had some bad relationships recently and don't want to embark on another one" is a variation on "It's not you, it's me."</p>
<p><br /><em>Listen to my podcast, the Savage Lovecast, at <a href="http://www.savagelovecast.com/"><strong>www.savagelovecast.com</strong></a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Impeach the motherfucker already! Get your ITMFA buttons, t-shirts, hats and lapel pins and coffee mugs at <a href="http://www.ITMFA.org"><strong>www.ITMFA.org</strong></a>!</em></div></p>
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Fri, 22 Sep 2017 15:07:26 -0700Portland MercurySide Order of Dickhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/22/19337519/side-order-of-dick
http://www.portlandmercury.com/i-anonymous-blog/2017/09/22/19337519/side-order-of-dickAnonymous
by Anonymous
<p>There I was at the bar enjoying drinks and dinner with my partner. When my main plate arrived, you leaned across your date to comment loudly on how much food it was; share your 'strategy' for enjoying it, including in what order I should eat the various ingredients; and tell me that it was at least three meals' worth of food.<br />Howzabout a nice big helping of shutthefuckup, pal? <br />Plus I think the only reason your date was with you was I heard her asking you for money. So I guess you get to enjoy a dessert course of loser sugar daddy. Bon appétit, asshole.</p>
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Fri, 22 Sep 2017 14:12:13 -0700Portland MercuryIn Barrett Martin's The Singing Earth, Music is the Antidote to Isolationist Politicshttp://www.portlandmercury.com/books/2017/09/20/19330848/barrett-martin-travels-the-world
http://www.portlandmercury.com/books/2017/09/20/19330848/barrett-martin-travels-the-worldRobert Ham
by Robert Ham
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style="width:620px"><img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/original/19334782/1506016700-online_barrett_martin_releases_singing_earth_book_cover.jpg" alt="online_barrett_martin_releases_singing_earth_book_cover.jpg" title=""></div></p>
<p>Of all the aggravations and outright horrors to befall the United States in the Trump administration’s first year, one of the worst is the president’s dangerous belief that American exceptionalism means cutting our country off from the rest of the world. The border wall, the travel ban, the tightening of relations with Cuba, potential cuts to programs offering cultural-exchange visas—the list goes on.</p>
<p>No one understands this better than percussionist Barrett Martin. Known among grunge aficionados as the former drummer of Screaming Trees and the Pearl Jam/Alice In Chains-associated dark blues group Mad Season, 50-year-old Martin has spent the better part of his adult life traveling the globe, studying the world’s cultures through music. His curiosity and adventurous spirit have taken him to the Peruvian Amazon, where he participated in an ayahuasca ceremony; to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and, in 1999, to the streets of Cuba, where, as a musical ambassador for the Music Bridge program, he jammed with locals and shook hands with Fidel Castro.</p>
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Fri, 22 Sep 2017 13:15:32 -0700Portland MercuryMorrissey's Kicking Off His North American Tour at the Schnitz This Halloweenhttp://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/22/19337270/morrisseys-kicking-off-his-north-american-tour-at-the-schnitz-this-halloween
http://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2017/09/22/19337270/morrisseys-kicking-off-his-north-american-tour-at-the-schnitz-this-halloweenCiara Dolan
by Ciara Dolan
<p><div class="blogImageCenter img-responsive" style=""><img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/portmerc/imager/u/large/19337274/1506106971-gettyimages-117226750.jpg" alt="Celebrate Halloween with Morrissey" title="Celebrate Halloween with Morrissey "><div class="image-caption-and-credit"><span class="imageCaption">Celebrate Halloween with Morrissey </span> <span class="imageCredit">Ian Gavan / Stringer / Getty Images</span></div></div></p>
<p>This morning <b>Morrissey</b> announced that he's touring North America this fall in support of his forthcoming album, <i>Low in High School</i>, and the first date is at Portland's Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Halloween (very spooky). </p>
<p>I wouldn't get too excited—he's somewhat notorious for canceling concerts, and his new record's first single, <b>"Spent the Day in Bed,"</b> is not very good. I cannot force myself to listen to it again, because doing so caused me physical pain (those wah-wah pedals gave me a raging headache in less than 10 seconds). </p>
<p>The lyrics are even worse. "I recommend that you stop watching the news," he sings bombastically in the chorus, "Because the news contrives to frighten you/To make you feel small and alone/To make you feel that your mind isn't your own." Instead of paying attention, Morrissey—who caught some well-deserved flack for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/23/morrissey-attacks-politicians-and-the-queen-over-manchester-terrorism-response">recent anti-immigration comments</a>—thinks we should just stay in bed. Because that will <i>definitely</i> make things better.</p>
<p>But if you'd like to be celebrate Halloween with Morrissey this year, that is an option. Tickets go on sale next Friday, September 29.</p>
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Celebrate Halloween with MorrisseyIan Gavan / Stringer / Getty ImagesFri, 22 Sep 2017 12:37:16 -0700Portland Mercury